Twitter is giving employees more cash and shares to soften the sting of its fallen stock
Its stock has lost two-thirds of its value since its 52-week high of $53.49 in April 2015, so Twitter is paying up to soothe some of the financial pain that employees have suffered, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Employees are being offered cash bonuses of between $50,000 and $200,000 to stick around another 6 months to a year, as well as additional grants of restricted stock units, the report said.
It's not unusual for tech companies to take steps to soften the financial blow of a falling stock price during tough times. Google, for instance, repriced employee stock options that were underwater in 2009 after the financial crisis.
But Twitter's moves come at a time when many inside and outside the company question its business prospects, amid stalled user growth and intensifying competition. CEO Jack Dorsey is trying to get the company back on track, and to fix the damage to employee morale after a year of internal turmoil.
Several high-profile Twitter executives and managers have jumped ship in recent months. In the past week alone, Twitter Editorial Director Karen Wickre, and Shariq Rizvi, who cofounded the direct response ads team at Twitter, both announced their departures.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.