monday.com Co-CEOs Seek $14M Pay Packages After Cutting 620 Jobs

monday.com's pay ask collides with layoffs and a weak stock

Why the shareholder vote matters more than the headline number

The core issue is not just compensation; it is trust. Shareholders are being asked to approve a package that would raise each co-CEO's pay from $7.3 million in 2025 to as much as $14.6 million by 2029. The request comes as monday.com deals with roughly 75% stock drop over the past year and follows the company's announcement of layoffs that were first reported as some 600 workers and later described as approximately 620. With annual revenue around $1.2 billion, this is a scaled software business testing how much patience investors still have.

Management's case is straightforward. It says revenue has grown from $308 million to $1.2 billion since the IPO, while CEO pay has not been meaningfully reset and remains in the lower percentiles of comparable public software companies. Supporters can argue that, if the board wants the AI pivot to work, it needs competitive incentives now rather than after the market has lost more confidence.

Skeptics focus on timing. The stock is down sharply, and the pay request arrived shortly after the layoffs. The vote, in other words, is less about whether monday.com can afford a larger package than whether investors still trust the leadership team to earn it.

The layoffs are being sold as a strategic reset, not cost cutting

monday.com is cutting approximately 620 employees, or 20 percent of its workforce, while arguing that the move is not primarily about savings. Management says the restructuring supports its "AI Work Platform" strategy and that most of the savings will be redirected to employees, product development, artificial intelligence, and long-term expansion.

What management is trying to prove

Since its IPO, annual revenue has grown from $308 million to $1.2 billion. That gives the company a stronger starting point than a smaller software vendor, but it also raises the bar for execution. Management's argument is that a flatter organization, continued hiring in strategic roles, and more capital directed toward AI product work can position monday.com better for the next phase of the market.

If investors accept that framing, the layoffs look less like damage control and more like a reallocation of resources.

Why investors are still skeptical

The stock's steep decline shows that the old growth narrative is no longer enough on its own. That makes the company's AI repositioning vulnerable to a simple test: is this genuine reinvestment, or is it a restructuring dressed up with current software buzzwords?

The answer will depend on follow-through. Investors should watch whether monday.com continues hiring in priority areas, shows product momentum around AI, and proves that the leaner organization is making execution faster rather than merely cheaper.

What would make the pay plan more defensible?

After the restructuring debate, the remaining question is narrow: can this plan be framed as an execution contract rather than a reward?

The case for approval is narrower than the headline suggests

The package includes a 19% first-year salary increase and moves stock-based compensation toward the fiftieth percentile of the peer group by 2028. If targets are met, total annual compensation can reach $14.6 million by 2029. Against a backdrop of roughly 75% stock decline over the past year and about 620 job cuts, the key issue is whether the structure ties future upside to future delivery.

The proxy says 60% of the stock-based mix would be performance-dependent, while the ceiling for performance-based awards would rise to 200%. That gives the proposal a reasonable turnaround shape, but investors still need to decide whether the terms are tight enough to matter if the stock remains under pressure.

What to watch in the vote

• Whether a "no" vote functions mainly as a governance signal.
• Whether the compensation structure is specific enough to matter, or still allows a generous payout for mediocre results.
• Whether approval gives monday.com a cleaner mandate to execute during the AI rebuild.

If another year of weak execution follows approval, the package will look less like retention math and more like an unwarranted windfall.