Microsoft’s cloud boss, Scott Guthrie, is facing tough questions from his employees about the company’s decision to freeze raises and cut bonuses. Microsoft had informed employees that it would pause raises and cut bonuses and stock awards ahead of an employee meeting for the Cloud + AI organization. Questions submitted by the employees for an Ask Me Anything meeting with Guthrie raised concerns about employee morale and management’s decision-making. Microsoft’s senior leadership team was the primary target of many of these questions.
Employees aired their grievances on an internal companywide message board. One employee wrote, We need to make this uncomfortable every time an exec shows their face. Every AMA, Q&A, town hall, every social media post they make. Remind them of their decision. Why do they think it’s appropriate to screw over their employees like this?
Nadella notified employees earlier this month that the company would halt raises and cut its budget for bonuses and stock awards.
According to reports, many of the questions asked of Guthrie in the scheduled meeting were directed at Microsoft’s senior leadership team. Additionally, layoffs at the tech giant have damaged employee morale, driving a culture of rushing to deliver projects and a drop in engineering excellence. The meeting, scheduled for June 8, was canceled due to technical difficulties. The meeting has been rescheduled for next week. Microsoft has not commented further on the issue.
Employees have raised concerns about how a company that made over $18 billion in profit last quarter could not afford to give its employees a small annual increase in pay. They have questioned the plan to retain top talent and expressed frustration with the lack of raises this year. Employees already earn less than their competitors, and layoffs have exacerbated concerns over the extra workload due to reduced staff.
The scenario at Microsoft highlights the need for organizations to keep their employees’ morale high. Layoffs, pay freezes, and bonuses cuts can adversely affect employee morale and lead to an exodus of top talent to competitors. Such scenarios can drive employee disenchantment and erode company culture, and Microsoft’s senior leadership is now facing the challenging task of dealing with the fallout.
