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- A version of this story originally appeared in the AI Insider newsletter.
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There’s a date looming at Meta that some employees are calling “The Rapture.” And it could trigger an exodus of wealthy tech workers.
February 15, 2027, marks the final payout from a particularly lucrative batch of company shares awarded to employees in 2023, when Meta’s stock price was in the doldrums.
Meta’s stock has soared more than 400% since the beginning of 2023. That stock surge has turned those awards into a gold mine.
Andre Nader, a former Meta employee who writes the FAANG FIRE newsletter, estimates senior engineers could see annual compensation from stock awards plunge more than 40%, after these payouts end.
That’s a serious pay cut. But there’s a delicious twist.
Some Meta employees have made so much money from this extraordinary stock rally that they may no longer need to work. Over the past four years, several of these equity grants have jumped in value as Meta stock rebounded. Some employees could be sitting on gains of $2 million or more.
Once you’ve made money like that, golden handcuffs sometimes don’t work as well. For some lucky Meta veterans, The Rapture could mean early retirement rather than another job.
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