2024 has been a brutal year for layoffs in the gaming, technology, and entertainment industry. We overcame 2023's enormous layoff figure early into the calendar year and since then thousands of talented employees lost their jobs. One of the biggest layoff offenders was Microsoft and its Xbox gaming division, as we saw 1,900 people lose their jobs in January, a further 650 in September, and Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog among the studios shutting their doors permanently. Needless to say, it's been a challenging 10 months already.
But not for everyone. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella seems to have impressed the board and his corporate overlords lately as CNBC reports that he has received a salary increase of $30.6 million this year. Nadella's salary has jumped around 30%, from $48.5 million and up to $79.1 million, which was actually less than expected as around $5.5 million was knocked off due to recent cyberattacks.
Nadella is said to have asked for less of a raise to reflect the security issues Microsoft has faced, which no doubt is of massive relief to the thousands of folk who lost their jobs in the last few months.
The majority of Nadella's pay does come in the form of stock, with only a portion being attributed to actual cash. As per why such a raise has come about despite an alarming year for many, Microsoft has posted positive numbers in many of its sectors, especially (and ironically) the security business.