Amazon plans to cut employee stock awards amid tough economy

April 5 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) said it would reduce employee stock awards, part of its compensation plan, as the e-commerce giant navigates an uncertain economy.

“We made the decision to reduce RSU (restricted stock units) awards in the most recent outlook year by a small amount (other years are not affected),”[ads1]; an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement, without specifying the period of the most recent outlook year .

The news comes weeks after Amazon announced a second round of mass layoffs, capping a wave of job cuts that has swept the tech sector as a rough economy forces companies to lean.

Business Insider had first reported the planned change to the company’s pay structure, saying Amazon would reassess 2025 compensation in the first quarter of next year to “plan for variation in stock.”

The company was considering adjusting its compensation model in the future to be more balanced between basic cash compensation and equity, after looking at the combination of an uncertain economy and the compensation budget, the spokesperson said.

Amazon shares are up more than 20% this year, after falling nearly 50% in 2022.

Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath

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