Yeah I'm surprised that people are still surprised by this. It is a pretty well known practice at large companies. If you have been at a company for a few year

Yeah I'm surprised that people are still surprised by this. It is a pretty well known practice at large companies. If you have been at a company for a few years getting promos and stock refreshers is always a struggle due to limited budgets and internal politics. On the other hand if you "boomerang" (quit and come back after a year or so) you will automatically get a higher title and a fresh new hire stock grant.