In an effort to retain talent amidst rising competition from startups, Apple has issued substantial bonuses to its iPhone hardware design team this week. These bonuses, which are described as "out-of-cycle," range between $200,000 and $400,000 over a four-year vesting period, incentivizing employees to remain with the company for the duration to reap the full benefits.
Reportedly, the bonuses are a direct reaction to increased recruitment activities from companies like OpenAI, which have been attracting Apple engineers with offers of up to $1 million in stock annually. Notably, the tech giant has previously resorted to similar measures when faced with employee departures during a talent war three years ago.
One high-profile exit was that of Tang Tan, who left Apple in 2023 after serving as VP of product design to become OpenAI’s chief hardware officer. This shift has contributed to OpenAI reportedly hiring several dozen engineers from Apple, further intensifying the competition in the tech industry.