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An interesting question for me is whether Netflix will also experience a wave of talent departures as an additional result of this stock plunge. Netflix is com

An interesting question for me is whether Netflix will also experience a wave of talent departures as an additional result of this stock plunge. Netflix is competing for talent as a FAANG outfit, and as such much of the value they provide to their employees depends on their RSUs. This works great as long as stock price is on a steep rise, as has generally been the case for FAANG over the past several years. Now that the price is on a downslope, though, we should expect their compensation package to be less competitive than other tech companies, and especially FAANG. Will they be able to deal with it somehow? Or will their top talent migrate to more successful tech companies that can pay as well as Netflix did while its stock was rising?

jogjayr 8y ago
Netflix doesn't force employees to take RSUs. Every employee has the option to take anywhere from 0-100% of their compensation in cash. [1] This was also my experience. 1. https://www.quora.com/How-does-Netflix-compensate-its-employees https://www.quora.com/How-does-Netflix-compensate-its-employ...
- dunpeal 8y ago
  It's nice that employees have a choice, but presumably some of them did choose to take stock (it would be pretty bad if none of them did), and they will see a reduction in their comp as a result of this plunge. Furthermore, the link you provided also states that since 2015, there's a compensation factor that is non-voluntary and pegged to the price of the stock, so everyone will see a reduction, though some more than others.
icebraining 8y ago
As others have pointed out, even with this plunge the stock is still up 24% in the last 90 days alone.
1123581321 8y ago
Factor into your calculation that the stock is now cheaper for new hires, and that Netflix can adjust compensation to retain employees. I personally don’t think it’s an interesting question yet.
- dunpeal 8y ago
  > I personally don’t think it’s an interesting question yet. You're probably right. I think it will become interesting once a FAANG starts losing enough stock value and cash that compensation is no longer competitive and cannot be adjusted. My sense is that retention relying on constant and substantial stock appreciation is inherently dangerous for the employer, because it means that if their stock value plunges, their woes will be compounded by almost immediate talent exodus. This is not yet the case for Netflix, which can still pay well.

jogjayr 8y ago

Netflix doesn't force employees to take RSUs. Every employee has the option to take anywhere from 0-100% of their compensation in cash. [1] This was also my experience. 1. https://www.quora.com/How-does-Netflix-compensate-its-employees https://www.quora.com/How-does-Netflix-compensate-its-employ...

dunpeal 8y ago
It's nice that employees have a choice, but presumably some of them did choose to take stock (it would be pretty bad if none of them did), and they will see a reduction in their comp as a result of this plunge. Furthermore, the link you provided also states that since 2015, there's a compensation factor that is non-voluntary and pegged to the price of the stock, so everyone will see a reduction, though some more than others.

icebraining 8y ago

As others have pointed out, even with this plunge the stock is still up 24% in the last 90 days alone.

1123581321 8y ago

Factor into your calculation that the stock is now cheaper for new hires, and that Netflix can adjust compensation to retain employees. I personally don’t think it’s an interesting question yet.

dunpeal 8y ago
> I personally don’t think it’s an interesting question yet. You're probably right. I think it will become interesting once a FAANG starts losing enough stock value and cash that compensation is no longer competitive and cannot be adjusted. My sense is that retention relying on constant and substantial stock appreciation is inherently dangerous for the employer, because it means that if their stock value plunges, their woes will be compounded by almost immediate talent exodus. This is not yet the case for Netflix, which can still pay well.