"Is This Really the Same Company?" Online Salary Data Causes Stir... Up to 20-Fold Difference by Department

Anonymous Salary Data from 600 MS Employees Released
Cloud+AI Division Offers Stock Compensation Up to $1.4 Million

Internal data that can be used to estimate the salary and compensation levels of employees at global tech giant Microsoft (MS) has been released. In particular, in the artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud divisions, stock compensation alone has reached up to 1.4 million dollars (approximately 1.94 billion won).

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According to U.S. media outlet Business Insider and others on August 24 (local time), an internal spreadsheet in which around 600 MS employees anonymously entered their salary information was recently made public online. The data includes base salary, annual raise rates, cash bonuses, and stock compensation.

The employee-provided data shows that MS's compensation levels vary greatly depending on job grade and department. Across the company, level 59 employees have a starting base salary of about 111,000 dollars (approximately 154 million won), while at level 67, the maximum base salary is 280,000 dollars (about 388 million won). The maximum cash bonus is 110,000 dollars (roughly 152 million won) and the maximum stock compensation reaches 300,000 dollars (about 416 million won).

The highest compensation amounts were found in AI and cloud-related organizations. Employees in the "Cloud+AI" division posted base salaries ranging from 111,000 to 450,000 dollars (approximately 154 million to 624 million won). Stock compensation reached up to 1.4 million dollars (about 1.94 billion won), and cash bonuses went as high as 300,000 dollars (about 416 million won).

Amid increasingly fierce competition among global tech firms to secure talent in AI, some observers note that MS is offering relatively higher compensation to staff in strategically important business areas.

The gap between departments was also significant. In the Azure cloud division, base salaries ranged from 123,000 to 252,000 dollars (approximately 170 million to 350 million won), and stock compensation was as high as 294,000 dollars (about 410 million won). Notably, the Cloud+AI division posted the highest levels among surveyed groups: a maximum base salary of 450,000 dollars (approximately 623 million won), and stock compensation topping out at 1.4 million dollars (about 1.94 billion won).

In contrast, the Xbox division, which handles gaming, reported a maximum base salary of 218,000 dollars (about 301 million won) and maximum stock compensation of 65,000 dollars (about 9 million won). When compared with the Cloud+AI organization, the top base salary in Xbox is about half as much, and the maximum stock compensation is over 20 times lower.

However, this data is not an official company-wide salary disclosure from MS but numbers voluntarily entered by employees. With only about 600 entries out of MS's total workforce of about 223,000, it should not be assumed to represent the company’s full salary range. MS has not made any official comment regarding the information.

Nevertheless, the data draws attention as an example of the compensation provided by MS, one of the world's largest tech companies. The media outlet added that particularly large stock and cash compensation in AI and cloud divisions illustrate how competition to secure top tech talent is already being reflected in pay structures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.