Microsoft CEO's new $79.1 million pay package represents a massive 63% increase despite a year of layoffs and cybersecurity failures

If you've had a rather good year in your current employment, it's reasonable to expect that you might receive a bump in your pay package to reflect all that hard work. And if things have been going less than ideally, well, you'd probably expect to be paid the same, or perhaps even have your role reappraised.

Not so at Microsoft it seems, as despite a year of layoffs and highly public security incidents, head honcho Satya Nadella has received a whopping 63% increase in his pay package compared to the previous year.

Around 90% of that package for the year ending in June was in Microsoft shares, according to the company's most recent regulatory filings (via Bloomberg). That adds up to a total worth $79.1 million, although it would have been $5 million higher if not for a personally requested pay cut to reflect "personal accountability" for changes brought about in the wake of the company's previous cybersecurity troubles.

In March of this year, the US government's Cyber Safety Review Board found that Microsoft's security practices were "lacking" in comparison to other cloud providers. The report slammed Microsoft's handling of a security breach involving a Chinese hacking group that led to the access of 25 organisations (including several government agencies) email accounts.

This led to the Microsoft president Brad Smith conceding the cybersecurity failures in front of the US Congress, saying at the time “we acknowledge that we can and must do better, and we apologize and express our deepest regrets to those who have been impacted.”

Microsoft also admitted that it had been hacked by a "Russian state-sponsored actor" known as Midnight Blizzard in November 2023, leading to 'a very small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts' being compromised.

These breaches have led the company to pledge an overhaul of its cybersecurity procedures, including the creation of six prioritised "security pillars" to guide the company towards shoring up its security practices in future.

The company also carried out two major mass layoffs this year, with 1,900 jobs lost at Activision Blizzard and Xbox in January, followed by 650 further layoffs last month. Activision Blizzard was purchased by Microsoft for $69 billion in October 2023, and thanks to these layoffs has let go of over 2,500 of its staff since then. Microsoft also shuttered four studios—Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games and Roundhouse games, in May of this year.

So, it seems to have been something of a tumultuous year if you are (or were) a Microsoft employee, but CEO Satya Nadella is still raking in the big bucks. It doesn't quite match a previous pay package he received all the way back in 2014, said to be worth $84 million, but then I suppose money's all somewhat relative when it starts reaching these sorts of figures.

Nadella isn't the only Microsoft higher-up to receive an increase in moolah (or shares equating to moolah) this year either. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood's package rose 30% to $25.8 million, while President Brad Smith received a 29% increase, equating to $23.4 million.

Anyways, all this talk of money has made me hungry, so it's time for lunch. Beans on toast again, is it? That'll do, I suppose.