TikTok's ByteDance to offer 50% bonus for high performers in 2026

Top talent at TikTok’s rejoice, as its parent company, ByteDance, is planning to raise bonuses and other payment incentives in 2026.

The company has decided on the 50% bonus for the top performer for the year 2026, which explains that the increases are meant to draw in new hires and retain top performers.

The company explains that some bonus increases are reserved for workers who score above a certain threshold in performance reviews.

According to a memo owned by ByteDance shared last week, the world’s most popular short video platform is increasing how it spends on high-performing staffers in 2026.

TikTok owner informed its staff that the pay increases were designed to meet a moment when the tech industry is facing a slew of new challenges and opportunities, making it crucial to attract and retain talent.

In ByteDance’s upcoming annual performance reviews, the company aims to spend 50% more globally on incentives like bonuses or raises that increase staff pays as compared to previous packages as part of a push to keep them happy and also attract new hires.

Pay offers are specially designed for high-demand tech workers in areas where AI has reached new heights this year as companies like Meta have gone on hiring sprees that included nine-figure signing bonuses.

As reported by Business Insider, Amazon also tweaked its pay bands earlier this year to reward its top-tier workers to meet the challenges.

The company informs that the performance reviews are a big focus at TikTok, and as part of ByteDance’s incentive adjustments for 2026, the company said in the memo that it would invest 35% more in bonuses for employees who score an "M"—for consistently meets expectations—or better in their annual performance reviews.

An "M" score sits in the middle of the company's performance label, and workers who get a higher score of "E," for exceeds expectations, stand to get bigger bonus payouts.

The memo informed that a larger portion of bonuses will arrive in the form of cash rather than stock options next year.

Alongside the payment changes, ByteDance said in the memo that it plans to shift how it structures jobs at the company into 10 different levels and informed that it would have higher standards of performance.

The new incentive policies arrive at a moment of flux for TikTok and ByteDance.

ByteDance announced plans to spin off part of TikTok’s US business into a joint venture next year.

TikTok's US employees learned on Thursday that part of their company is being spun off in a joint venture that includes new investors like Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.