Exercise equipment business Peloton has offered its US employees either a one-off cash bonus or stock compensation changes in a bid to retain its workforce, according to internal memos.
As of 1 July, its hourly workers are eligible for a one-time cash bonus to be paid before the end of February next year, provided they stay with the business through to January, with the bonus amount varying depending on their role.
The incentive has been implemented due to hourly employees saying they would prefer to receive cash compensation over longer-term equity grants.
Eligible members of staff will have their post-initial public offering (IPO) options repriced to Peloton’s closing price on 1 July of $9.13 (£7.65). Options granted on 1 March had an exercise price of $27.62 (£23.14), but employees were not benefitting financially until the stock passed that threshold. After the repricing, they will be able to exercise their options after the price passes $9.13.
The business has also accelerated the vesting requirement by one year for eligible unvested restricted stock units that have more than eight vesting dates left in their schedule. This will let employees access the value of the stock units sooner, but the change does not apply to hourly employees or C-suite executives.
A Peloton spokesperson said: “Peloton is committed to competitive and equitable compensation for our people. We shared our success in achieving a zero pay gap across our workforce, as well as actions we have taken to ensure our team members are incentivised to drive our continued progress as the world’s leading connected fitness platform. Peloton is grateful to our team members for their hard work and determination.”