Meta, Google were among top-3 highest paying public companies in 2022; here's how much employees earned

Facebook parent company Meta and Google parent company Alphabet were among the top three highest-paying public companies. Meta ranked second in terms of median salary, offering employees a median wage of nearly $3,00,000 (roughly Rs 2.46 crore), according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Alphabet followed closely behind at the third spot with a median wage of $2,80,000 (roughly Rs 2.29 crore). However, Vici Properties, a real estate investment trust, claimed the top spot with a median salary of approximately $4,15,000 (Rs 3.40 crore).

Despite their high-paying status, both Alphabet and Meta have been affected by layoffs. Since 2022, these companies have collectively laid off around 33,000 employees. This trend reflects a broader pullback on employee perks and a challenging year for the tech industry in terms of workforce reductions.

The findings were based on the data compiled by public-company analysts MyLogIQ. The analysts looked at the median salaries at 278 companies in the S&P 500.

The Journal's analysis also highlighted the significant pay disparity between CEOs and median employees. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai earned a salary package of $226 million ( according to SEC filings), which was approximately 808 times more than the company's median pay. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg received $28 million, 91 times more than the company's median pay. 

While the median salary ranges for public companies in 2022 did not decrease significantly compared to the previous year, the report emphasized that the disclosed compensation figures may not fully represent the entire workforce, as companies have some flexibility in determining the identification of their median worker.

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Layoffs at Google and Meta

Google laid off 12,000 employees in the month of January this year but it was feeling the heat since late last year. Meta conducted layoffs in two tranches. The first layoffs were conducted late last year when the company fired 11,000 employees. This year, Meta fired 10,000 more employees as part of its 'year of efficiency' strategy. 

The reasons behind these mass layoffs are multifaceted and may include factors strategic restructuring, changing market dynamics, and cost optimization.

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