This article was originally published in The Wall Street Journal on April 4, 2023

Videogame company Unity Software Inc. and business-software firm Salesforce Inc. are among businesses weighing or moving ahead with bringing down stock-based compensation, while companies such as DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse parent Designer Brands Inc. and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. are planning adjustments to worker bonuses. 

These moves to cut compensation, which aren’t yet widespread, mark a concern for a growing recession and is a reversal of company behavior in the years following the pandemic as companies raised salaries and other benefits in a bid to recruit and retain workers. 

“It’s just kind of a natural time to recalibrate, if you will, those performance metrics, given just the uncertainty and change in the market.” Managing Director Allison Hoeinghaus speaks to Wall Street Journal on the current tweaks in equity compensation and incentive pay.