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WeWork chairman Marcelo Claure is shepherding the company through restructuring.
- WeWork is changing its employee compensation, per an email sent to staff Thursday by its new head of people that Business Insider obtained.
- The package includes base salary, an annual cash bonus, and annual equity grants. Previously, employees had equity but not through an annual grant system.
- WeWork plans to hire more next year, and the package is intended to both attract new talent and retain existing employees after a tumultuous fall.
- For more WeWork stories, click here.
WeWork is restructuring its employee compensation package, per an email sent to staff Thursday afternoon that Business Insider obtained.
Matt Jahansouz, WeWork's head of people, outlined the new structure, which includes base salary, an annual cash bonus, and annual equity grants. Previously, employees had equity but not through an annual grant system. The plan takes effect in January.
Jahansouz was promoted internally to the role two weeks ago as one of four executive changes. He joined WeWork in February after nearly nine years in human-resources roles at Goldman Sachs, where he was most recently managing director and global head of recruiting.
A company representative declined to comment.
Despite laying off 2,400 staff this quarter, WeWork plans to hire more next year. The reworked compensation plan is intended to both attract new talent and retain existing employees after a tumultuous fall, a source with knowledge of the change said.
Compensation will be tied to member experience, a key part of chairman Marcelo Claure's vision for righting the company, he said in an all-staff meeting two weeks ago that was leaked to Business Insider.
Jahansouz wrote in the email that since compensation is now addressed, he'll work on concerns about employee experience.
"We need to provide you with an unmatched employee experience that you cannot find anywhere else. We have taken positive steps on compensation, and experience is where we will spend our time next," he wrote.
Here's the portion of Jahansouz's memo that lays out the new compensation plan:
- Base Salary:
- Salaries will continue to align with the market and will be based on level, job family, and location.
- We will continue to run an annual merit increase cycle to review and adjust employee salaries in line with market.
- In 2020, we will communicate base salary increases in February, which will be retroactive to January 1, 2020.
- Annual Cash Bonus:
- Employees will have a target annual cash bonus based on level; the target is a percentage of your base salary.
- Annual cash bonuses can be paid from 0% to 150% of target, depending on performance metrics. For the first annual cash bonus, there is a guaranteed "floor" of 50% of target for annual bonuses in year one to ensure a minimum payout.
- The first annual cash bonus will be accrued during the 2020 calendar year and paid in February 2021.
- Annual Equity Grant:
- Each employee will have a target annual stock option grant based on level. That target can vary based on location.
- We have decided to provide employees both their 2020 and their 2021 equity awards in February 2020.
- Note that if you work primarily in China, Japan, or the Pacific (excluding India and Australia), you may be eligible for local incentives that look and feel like the equity we give at WeWork so that you can benefit from the growth potential in these regions.
- While we intend to grant top-to-bottom equity globally to all employees, if we are unable to grant equity in certain countries as a result of local law considerations, we will evaluate an alternative compensation design that provides similar pay for performance.
- Base Salary:
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