Microsoft's Cloud and AI Workers Reap Lucrative Stock Awards Amid AI Talent War

Microsoft's internal compensation spreadsheet has revealed significant stock awards for employees in its Cloud and AI organization. The spreadsheet, reviewed by Business Insider, contained nearly 600 anonymous submissions covering base salaries, raises, cash bonuses, and equity awards.

Cloud and AI staff reported base pay ranging from $111,000 to $450,000, bonuses from zero to $300,000, and stock awards from $9,000 to $1.4 million. Azure employees' salaries reached as high as $252,000, while Microsoft AI workers reported base salaries up to $232,000.

The figures are self-reported and do not represent Microsoft's official compensation data. The numbers arrive at a time when Microsoft is intensely competing with Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic for scarce AI engineers and researchers.