The Scoop #23: Pay raises across Big Tech and re-levelling at Netflix
The Scoop #23: Pay raises across Big Tech and re-levelling at Netflix
The end of Netflix’s 25-year policy of one level for all software engineers. Also, pay rises across Shopify and Oracle, and more.
The Scoop is a bonus series, covering insights, patterns and trends I observe and hear about within Big Tech and at high-growth startups. Have a scoop to share? Send me a message! I treat all such messages as anonymous.
The Scoop sometimes delivers first-hand, original, reportage. I’m adding an ‘Exclusive’ label to news which features original reporting direct from my sources, as distinct from analysis, opinion and reaction to events. Of course, I also analyze what’s happening in the tech industry, citing other media sources and quoting them as I dive into trends I observe. These sections do not carry the ‘Exclusive’ mark.
In this issue, we cover:
Netflix’s historic introduction of levels for all of software engineering. Four months after starting this process, Netflix has rolled out levels for software engineers. What are these levels, and how do people feel about the change? I share the thoughts of tech employees at the company whom I talked with. Exclusive. Non-subscribers can read this article here.
Large pay raises – but still some discontent at Shopify. The company announced inflation-beating pay adjustments, with software engineers getting some of the highest raises. Still, people are grumbling and upset about some draconian policies. What is happening at the company formerly known for its transparent culture? Exclusive.
Friction on compensation at Microsoft. The company is giving more generous stock awards to its graduates, than it does to industry hires. This is causing friction among L61-62 team members, whose total compensation can be less than new L59-60 engineers make. Exclusive.
Shopify’s updated governance structure. In April, most small investors and several Shopify employees voted against changes to ‘lock in’ the current Shopify CEO ‘for life.’ Yet this change still passed approval. A summary of what happened and a comment from a current Shopify employee on why they opposed it.
Business back to normal at Oracle. The layoffs that were never announced to start nor to end seem to be over, according to software engineers I talked to, and raises were communicated. I checked in with current employees on how things are going at the company. Exclusive.