AFAIK having worked at several FAANG and discussing with others, this is just not true. No company is doing anything like that and calling it stock awards or RS

AFAIK having worked at several FAANG and discussing with others, this is just not true. No company is doing anything like that and calling it stock awards or RSU or stock-based compensation. Most FAANG companies (almost certainly including Google) are doing dollar value stock awards, but those only affect how the number of awarded stocks is computed. Those awards still vest over some period and employees gain or lose based on the difference in the stock price from when they are awarded until they are vested.