Bonus part of company's measures to retain talent amid political, economic challenges
Internet firm ByteDance is granting high-performing employees an annual bonus of up to 15%, according to reports.
Hua Wei, ByteDance's head of human resources, said employees who are rated "M" or higher will be given an extra payment between five to 15% of their original bonus, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
ByteDance employees get their bonuses based on their performance reviews. The "M" rating means "meet expectations," the fifth highest of the eight classifications that the internet firm's 110,000 global employees can achieve.
Two ByteDance employees who came forward to SCMP said reaching this level usually means a bonus worth a three-month salary.
According to the SCMP, the bonus indicates the measures ByteDance is willing to take to retain talent as it carries out layoffs and faces backlash from lawmakers in the United States. The company is the developer of TikTok.
New payroll policy for stock options
In January, ByteDance introduced a new payroll policy allowing employees to sell their stock options faster.
The policy allows employees to receive 20% of their total stock awards after their first year, with the stock grants to be granted on a quarterly basis, according to the SCMP.
Previously, the company just granted up to 15% and only vested the stock grants annually.
The new policies come as the company announces layoffs in some of its units, such as Feishu and Pico, where over a thousand employees are affected overall.
ByteDance is also currently facing pushback from lawmakers in the United States, who passed in March a bill requiring the company to divest from TikTok or risk getting the social media platform banned in the country.
