Salesforce is skipping salary increases this year for employees at the director level and above, redirecting compensation toward stock and bonuses instead, according to Business Insider.Â
The company says merit increases will focus on lower-level employees, while senior staff compensation will be tied more closely to performance. Stock grants are expanding, with more leaders receiving equity and top performers seeing significantly larger awards. Bonus pools are also increasing, with many high-rated employees receiving payouts above target.
Employees will learn their compensation outcomes during performance reviews beginning at the end of March.
A Shift in How Leadership Gets Paid
Rather than raising fixed salaries, companies are leaning more heavily on equity and variable pay. The approach rewards performance while limiting long-term cash commitments, especially in a volatile market.
This strategy is already playing out elsewhere. Meta recently introduced large equity-driven pay packages for top executives, signaling a more aggressive push to tie leadership rewards directly to company performance in the AI era.
AI Pressure Is Changing Pay Strategy
These changes are happening as AI begins to disrupt traditional software business models.
Salesforce’s stock has declined sharply over the past year, amid concerns about how AI could impact software companies. In response, compensation strategies are shifting to prioritize long-term value creation over guaranteed pay.
By tying more compensation to stock, companies are effectively placing a larger bet on future performance—while asking leaders to do the same.
Performance Reviews Carry More Weight
The changes also elevate the role of performance reviews.
Compensation is becoming more variable and more closely tied to ratings, with top performers receiving a disproportionate share of stock and bonus increases. That puts more pressure on how performance is measured and how employees compete within organizations.
What It Signals for the Future of Work
Together, Salesforce’s decision and Meta’s recent moves point to a larger repositioning in how high-level work is valued.
Pay is becoming less about position and more about measurable impact. Fixed salaries are giving way to performance-driven models, especially at the top.
As AI rearranges business priorities, companies are not just changing how work gets done—they are changing how leadership is rewarded for doing it.
