Apple prevents poaching | Awarding rare bonuses to iPhone designers

SighingCashier · 2026-03-27T01:50:43+00:00

Bloomberg reports that Apple has rarely awarded bonuses of hundreds of thousands of dollars, typically vested over four years in stock, to prevent iPhone hardware designers from defecting to competitors like OpenAI. Management is concerned that rivals may poach talent, and this bonus is seen as a response to increased recruiting efforts by startups, though it still falls short of the incentive levels offered by companies like OpenAI.

SighingCashier

2026-03-27 01:50:43

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Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, reports that Apple has rarely awarded bonuses to iPhone hardware designers to prevent them from joining AI startups like OpenAI that are developing their own devices.

Sources reveal that the company has awarded several members of the iPhone product design team special bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. These bonuses are granted in stock units vesting over four years, meaning employees must stay at Apple to receive the full benefit. This is a common structure in Apple’s equity compensation plans. In many cases, the total value of these awards over the vesting period is approximately $200,000 to $400,000.

Apple management is increasingly concerned about potential competitors poaching engineers. OpenAI has become a particularly prominent threat, having invited former Apple design chief Jony Ive to help design a new generation of AI-centric products.

Employees see this pay raise as a direct response to recent efforts by startups to ramp up recruitment. However, these bonuses are still far below the levels offered by companies like OpenAI. In some cases, to attract Apple engineers to switch jobs, these companies offer individual stock incentives of about $1 million per year.

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