Microsoft wants to hold onto top executives, offers them ‘awards’ in the form of stock

Ron

CEO Steve Ballmer

As Microsoft continues to examine internal and external candidates for Steve Ballmer’s CEO position, Microsoft is looking to award current top executives with a bonus in order to keep them with the company.

“The company has not yet earmarked any payments, but said in the filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it ‘may from time to time make awards to executive officers,’ partly to ensure ‘continuity of key leaders during the transition to a new chief executive officer,'” a report from Reuters stated today.

Microsoft will be awarding stock to these executives ranging from 25% to 150% of the executives annual target compensation. Senior Microsoft executives are already eligible for a cash bonus and stock awards every year, according to the report.

As Microsoft continues its transition into a devices and services company, it makes sense for Microsoft to offer a bonus to executives in order to keep them on the payroll and from jumping ship to a rival company. After all, some executives saw an increase in job offers from other companies once the company restructuring was announced. Everyone’s fate was unknown at the time.

Microsoft is still searching high and low for a new CEO.