Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai was granted a total compensation of around US$226 million (approximately Rs 1,854 crore) in 2022, as disclosed in a securities filing on Friday. This amount is over 800 times higher than the median pay received by Alphabet employees.

In the company's filing, it was disclosed that Pichai's compensation included stock awards valued at approximately $218 million (equivalent to Rs 1,788 crore), reported Business Today. This revelation has garnered attention, especially considering that Alphabet has been implementing widespread job cuts across the globe.

In January 2022, the Mountain View-based company announced its intentions to eliminate 12,000 positions worldwide, which accounts for 6% of its workforce. The substantial disparity in compensation between Pichai and Alphabet's median worker has raised concerns about income inequality and equitable compensation practices.

Critics have expressed dissatisfaction with the company's apparent prioritisation of executive pay over the well-being of its employees. In recent months, there have been instances of employee protests against layoffs in various Alphabet offices around the world.

During the beginning of April, a walkout took place in London where hundreds of Google employees protested against the company's job cuts. Similarly, in March 2022, employees at Google's Zurich offices also staged a walkout in response to the announcement of layoffs impacting over 200 workers.

These incidents have drawn attention to the increasing discontent among Alphabet employees regarding the company's approach to managing job cuts.