Overview
- Apple is granting restricted stock awards worth about $200,000 to $400,000 to members of its iPhone product design group.
- The awards are one-off grants that vest over four years, which means employees must stay to receive the full value.
- Apple leaders see the plan as a direct answer to recruiting by OpenAI and Meta, with OpenAI reported to have hired more than 40 former Apple employees.
- Reports also describe unconfirmed AI hardware efforts at Apple and OpenAI, which helps explain the race to hire engineers with device experience.
- Apple has used retention payouts before, and recent moves include designer Abidur Chowdhury leaving for startup Hawk AI, while overall turnover is described as typical for Silicon Valley.