LINDSEY WASSON/Reuters
- Amazon employees, even those who have left, can pledge their stock as collateral for home mortgages.
- The arrangement is through Better.com, which will charge a higher interest rate on the loans.
- Amazon said its stock-heavy pay model is meant to urge employees "to think like owners."
Amazon is letting their employees use their stock to buy homes. Under the new program, Amazon employees will be able to use their vested stock as collateral in the home-buying process, Better said in a statement on Tuesday.
"For young professionals burdened with student debt and lack of savings, we know how hard it is to buy a home," Better's chief executive Vishal Garg said in the statement. "This problem is exacerbated when many of the best and fastest growing companies increasingly reward their employees with equity rather than cash."
Better said it crafted the program, called "Equity Unlocker," in part because it saw that "equity compensation was a particular concern" for Amazon employees, according to its statement.
Amazon has come under scrutiny for its stock-focused pay packages as the company's shares slump, which could lead to employee compensation falling by up to 50% this year. The company's stock price hovered around $93.50 on Tuesday morning — a drop from more than $150 a year ago.
The home loan benefit applies to both "current and former Amazon employees with vested equity in Amazon," per Better's statement. This year, Amazon started laying off employees as part of its plan to cut 18,000 roles, putting it among the ranks of Big Tech companies that are downsizing.
Amazon representative Brad Glasser told Insider said the program is part of a "wide-ranging slate of financial benefits" that the company is offering its employees.
"We're always looking for opportunities to enhance our benefit offerings and better support employees' mental, physical, and financial wellness," Glasser said.
Amazon employees have flagged concerns about the company's compensation packages trailing those of its Big Tech peers. Glasser said the company's approach is meant to reward "long-term" thinking.
"Our compensation model is intended to encourage employees to think like owners, which is why it connects total compensation to the company's long-term performance," he said.
News of Amazon's new program with Better was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.