Google CEO Sundar Pichai's pay package soars to $226 million (₹1854 crore) in 2022 amid layoffs, cost-cutting measures

Alphabet Inc, parent company of Google, CEO Sundar Pichai saw a significant increase in his pay package in 2022, with a total of $226 million, making him one of the highest-paid corporate leaders worldwide. The major portion of Pichai's pay package was a triennial stock grant of $218 million. In 2021, Pichai received a compensation package of $6.3 million, and his salary has remained constant at $2 million for the past three years.

Pichai's three-year schedule stock award

Pichai's stock award comes on a three-year schedule, and he received a similarly sized package in 2019, where he was awarded $281 million. Despite facing competition from AI products such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Pichai has been leading Alphabet through challenging times. The broader tech slowdown has affected the company's shares, which dropped by 39% in 2022. However, the shares have recovered, rising by 19% in 2023.

CEO compensation in the tech industry

CEO compensation has become a sensitive topic in the tech industry, with recent layoffs at Alphabet and other tech companies. Apple Inc.'s CEO Tim Cook slashed his 2023 pay after receiving criticism for earning $100 million each of the past two years. Pichai's package puts him well above other executives at Alphabet, with senior vice presidents of Google, Prabhakar Raghavan and Philipp Schindler earning about $37 million, and CFO Ruth Porat's compensation of $24.5 million.

Alphabet's job cuts and median total compensation

In January 2022, Alphabet started cutting about 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its global workforce, following months of other measures to reduce spending and set new priorities. The median total compensation for Alphabet employees in 2022 was $279,802, with Pichai's compensation being 808 times that amount. As part of his compensation package, Alphabet spent $5.94 million on personal security for Pichai.