10 Things in Tech: Stock shock

May 13, 2022

10 Things in Tech: Stock shock

Happy Friday, readers. The tech-stock collapse has sent many employees' total compensation into a tailspin, and we're showing you the best headphones you can buy.

Let's get started.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Insider's app – click here for iOS and here for Android.

1. The tech-stock collapse has sent employees' total compensation spiraling. Workers at companies like Amazon, Uber, and Block, who were lured to the firms by lucrative amounts of equity, watched thousands of dollars vanish from their compensation as stocks plunged this week. (Keep up with the latest tech stock moves over on Markets Insider.)

In recent years, workers have been recruited to Big Tech firms with offers that include large chunks of equity known as restricted stock units, which can make for compelling offers when stocks are skyrocketing.
But now, after tech stocks crashed, some employees said more than two-thirds of their total compensation has disappeared — with one seeing losses totaling up to $400,000.
As salaries take a hit, many tech employees could look to jump ship. In fact, some insiders said that if there's a decent offer on the table, now might be the best time to defect to a new company.

More on employees' massive losses.

In other news:

2. Twitter lost two executives yesterday. Insider has seen an internal email that Twitter's CEO sent to employees. The memo said the company would be freezing the majority of hiring and backfilling positions — and that it'd be rescinding offers already made to some candidates. Here's the latest.

3. The roads are wild these days. Big, expensive cars could be to blame. Evidence is mounting that driving itself turns people into bad drivers — and that pricier, fancier, bigger cars could make them even worse. Why more people are driving like jerks.

4. Meta is cutting spending in its hardware division. Reality Labs, a key component to the company's success in the metaverse, is bracing for cutbacks, and can no longer afford some projects, Reuters reported. What we know so far.

5. Amazon is building an advertising behemoth — and it's coming for Facebook. Despite being historically leery of advertising, Amazon's ad business has exploded in recent years. We spoke with advertisers and analysts, who laid out where it's headed next. Plus, meet the 26 execs making it all happen.

6. Tesla's Solar Roof has a new competitor: Ikea. The home-goods store will begin selling solar panels this fall — making it a direct competitor to residential solar-panel companies and Tesla Energy. Get the full rundown here.

7. Uber and Lyft's pool of rideshare drivers has shrunk. Many drivers told Insider they switched to delivering food, while others left entirely because of high gas prices. Some drivers collected big bonus payouts designed to lure them back — but then left the platforms anyway.

8. The SEC is investigating Elon Musk's late disclosure of his Twitter stake. Per the WSJ, Musk filed the form at least ten days after the date he was supposed to, meaning he may have benefitted from buying up cheaper shares in the meantime. A look at what that means.

Odds and ends:

The Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless noise cancelling headphones in silver and black. — Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider

9. We reviewed the best wireless noise-canceling headphones you can buy. Coming in at $400, Sony's new WH-1000XM5 are well worth the price for their superior sound quality and noise cancelation. Read the full review here.

10. Google is using AR to revamp its search and map features. In an attempt to appeal to younger, TikTok-savvy users, the company announced it'd be updating its features to allow people to search using images through their smartphone cameras. Everything you need to know.

The latest people moves in tech:

Uber's founding engineer Conrad Whelan just came out of early retirement to join crypto startup Nillion.
Ian Goodfellow, Apple's director of machine learning, quit because of the company's return-to-work policy.
Amazon moved a cloud exec accused of gender discrimination to an "advisory role" in a sweeping restructuring of the unit.
Niels Provos, Stripe's head of security, is leaving the company.
Moderna's CFO left after spending only one day in his new job. He'll still be paid $700,000.
Bank of America just lost Sumeet Chabria, a key tech executive.

Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.

Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

Read the original article on Business Insider