Microsoft employee says no salary hike is 'a slap in the face'

Microsoft has decided to withhold salary hikes for full-time employees this year

Microsoft’s decision to not raise salaries for full-time employees this year has been described as a “slap in the face” by one software engineer working with the IT giant.

Isabela Moreira, senior software engineer at Microsoft, took to social media to voice her disappointment after the company announced it would not raise pay for full-time employees, citing tough economic conditions.

The US-based Microsoft employee said no salary increase meant it was time for her to start acting her wage – a play on the popular “acting your age” adage which in modern-day parlance refers to employees not putting in extra hours or efforts for their company.

“Welp, Microsoft isn’t doing salary increases for non-hourly workers. Time to start acting my wage and saying ‘no thanks’ to extra projects,” she tweeted.

Welp, Microsoft isn’t doing salary increases for non-hourly workers. Time to start acting my wage and saying “no thanks” to extra projects.

— Isabela Moreira (@isabelacmor) May 10, 2023

Exactly. Not that the merit increases we’re keeping up with inflation but this is a slap in the face.

— Isabela Moreira (@isabelacmor) May 11, 2023

Microsoft has said it will not raise pay this year but will continue with its bonuses, stock awards and promotions. The decision to withhold hikes comes shortly after the tech giant laid off 10,000 employees, joining other technology companies in preparing for a turbulent year ahead.

“While we will have salary increases for certain hourly or equivalent roles, we will not have salary increases for full-time employees this year,” CEO Satya Nadella said in an email to employees, a copy of which was seen by BQ Prime.

Microsoft is now squarely focused on the lucrative generative AI. Along with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which has received billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft, the tech giant has been infusing the AI tech into its Office products and search engine Bing.