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Apple's product design engineers are in high demand. Photo: Bloomberg . |
According to Bloomberg , Apple awarded extra bonuses to its iPhone hardware design team this week. These bonuses, worth several hundred thousand dollars, were distributed to many members of the iPhone product design team.
The aim of this is to prevent a wave of talent from leaving for AI startups like OpenAI or companies developing their own devices. Previously, OpenAI had invited Jony Ive, former Apple design director, to join them in developing a new generation of AI products, and this has become increasingly concerning.
These bonuses are distributed as restricted stock units (RSUs) and will unlock gradually over four years, meaning employees must continue working at the company to receive the full value. This format is common in Apple's stock-based compensation packages.
In many cases, these bonuses are separate from the company's regular compensation plan and are valued at approximately $200,000- $400,000 over the entire period of stock unlocking. The actual total value could even be higher, depending on Apple's stock price performance.
Employees view this compensation increase as a direct response to the growing wave of hiring from startups. However, these bonuses are still only a fraction of what OpenAI and other companies are offering. Some companies are willing to pay around one million dollars worth of stock annually to entice engineers from Apple to switch jobs.
OpenAI's hardware division is currently co-headed by Tang Tan, a veteran former Apple executive. He previously headed the iPhone Product Design team that is receiving these bonuses.
This team is currently led by veteran leader Rich Dinh and is under the hardware engineering division of John Ternus. The Product Design division is responsible for developing both the appearance and technical functionality of the product, and for realizing the vision from the industrial design team.
Meanwhile, new startups are still targeting the device market. Last week, Brett Adcock, founder of Figure AI, revealed plans for a new AI device company called Hark.
Hark's lead designer, Abidur Chowdhury, previously oversaw the industrial design for the iPhone Air. The startup has also hired product engineers from Apple, such as Jack McCambridge and Alex Gould.
OpenAI and Hark are developing AI devices with the ambition of replacing the iPhone. For its part, Apple is also seeking to address this issue with its own portfolio of AI products, including smart glasses, a new generation of AirPods, and a pendant-style wearable device integrating Siri assistant and computer vision camera.
The industry's rapid shift towards AI has put Apple in a passive position, prompting many engineers and designers to proactively seek new opportunities. About three years ago, when concerns about job losses increased, the company also offered similar incentive packages, according to Bloomberg News.
Last year, amid escalating talent competition in the AI field, Apple also raised salaries for its internal modeling team. Around the same time, Meta reportedly made hiring offers exceeding $100 million in some cases.
Apple is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary next month. In this context, the loss of key technical personnel, from entry-level employees to senior leaders, is becoming one of the biggest obstacles.
Source: https://znews.vn/apple-phai-chi-dam-de-giu-chan-nhan-vien-post1638537.html
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