Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom use ‘golden handcuffs’ to retain employees

It’s tough season for chipmakers.

As their valuations soar in the wake of the AI ​​boom, so do the salaries of employees whose compensation is tied to stock prices. Some expect salaries worth millions of dollars.

There’s a catch: Stock payouts unlock over time, rewarding employees who stay with the company longer and penalizing those who leave early.

An Nvidia employee who plans to leave once his stock vests told Business Insider that doing so before would have a “significant cost,” adding: “If I wanted to leave now, I don’t think I could get the salary I have now at another company.”

It’s a tactic that tech giants, like Amazon and Google, have used for years to retain employees. Now that chipmakers are closing big deals to meet growing demand for AI power, the golden handcuffs of America’s three biggest companies — Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom — are tightening.

Business Insider spoke about the impact of these packages with six current and former employees of Nvidia and Broadcom who are not authorized to speak to the press. Since both companies have more than 36,000 employees with various compensation structures, we also worked with Levels.fyi, which tracks employee compensation more broadly in Silicon Valley.

It may take up to four years for some to get paid in full. However, the skyrocketing value of the stock awards means that some employees are already earning considerable sums, which, in Nvidia’s case, has pushed some into “semi-retirement” mode.

“A lot of them have families,” one Nvidia employee said, “and they’re probably thinking logically, ‘Who am I to leave this job that guarantees my kids will never have student debt?'”

Some employees say RSUs can be ‘golden handcuffs’ now that chipmakers have struck hard

The growth of shares of chipmakers Broadcom, Nvidia and AMD since January 2023 has outpaced that of other tech giants, such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

“Aside from Meta, even the most successful AI chip company (AMD) has outperformed the rest of the big tech companies over the past two years,” said Hakeem Shably, data analyst at Levels.fyi.

One Broadcom employee, who estimated that their restricted stock units, or RSUs, were valued at more than six times their salary, said: “Given the recent rise in the stock price, people who were able to hold on to their stock will now expect a very comfortable retirement.” »

In one case, a $488,000 equity package paid to an Nvidia employee in 2023 is now worth more than $2.2 million, according to Levels data. Even a more modest $66,000 RSU package reported by a Broadcom employee in 2023 jumped in value to around $265,000.

Business Insider spoke with a former Broadcom employee who said they lost unvested RSUs when they were laid off from the company last year. They estimate that their vested RSUs are now worth half a million dollars, but if they were still at Broadcom, their total RSU package would now be worth around $3 million.

In some user-submitted data provided by Levels.fyi, the value of several Nvidia employees’ stock grants has increased by more than 350% since their hire date in 2023, but because they are not fully vested, they stand to lose more than $500,000.

Similarly, at Broadcom, several employees’ grants have increased by more than 300% since 2023, with many holding RSU packages worth millions, according to Levels data. Two Broadcom employees said theirs were each worth more than $6 million.

An Nvidia employee said that RSUs have created “lottery winner syndrome,” meaning it’s unlikely to be possible to find such a lucrative opportunity elsewhere.

“The golden handcuffs are RSUs,” the former Broadcom employee said. “No one is going to resign now to pursue other opportunities.”

Acquisition strategies attract and retain talent with the promise of millions of dollars

Executives at chip giants are well aware of the power of these packages to retain talent.

Nvidia said “RSUs drive retention” in its annual sustainability report and said its turnover rate had more than halved, from 5.3% in 2023 to 2.5% in 2025. CEO Jensen Huang boasted make employees richand the company said 20% of employees have been there for 10 years, while 40% have been there for more than five years.

Similarly, Broadcom reported that its global voluntary attrition rate last year was 6.2%, which is “below the technology sector benchmark.” It cited stock awards as “a powerful incentive for long-term retention,” saying it had “historically granted these awards to the vast majority of our employees.”

Nvidia employees said that because long-time employees’ RSUs are worth more than those of new hires, the disparities are sometimes openly discussed. One employee said some executives who have been with the company a long time — and whose shares are worth exponentially more — “are just sitting back and vesting.” The other employee said those whose RSUs are worth more might have more incentive to go above and beyond, including working more intensely or being less likely to back down in meetings.

According to Levels data, Nvidia has started using a method used by Google, Uber, DoorDash and Pinterest in recent years, which is to “frontload” its acquisition schedules. This means that employees receive most of their equity during their first year with the company. Similar to a signing bonus, front loading can be a valuable tool for attracting top talent.

It also ties financial rewards more closely to employee performance, as tech employees often receive additional stock after their first year on the job. After that, if an employee’s performance is poor, they are more likely to see their compensation reduced.

The small salaries doled out by these AI hardware companies have also become incredibly lucrative. Employees can get more equity instead of higher pay or bonuses — and for some of those currently working at the chip giants, that’s no big deal.

“In private conversations I’ve had with others,” said another former Broadcom employee, “they’re very happy with the RSUs.”