Many Nvidia employees have become millionaires, but they still have to work into the night

Since 2019, Nvidia shares have increased in price by 3,776% thanks to the explosive growth of artificial intelligence and the resulting demand for AI accelerators. This made many of the company’s employees millionaires, but the work process itself did not become easier. According to current and former Nvidia employees, working at the company is still grueling. They do not have time to spend the money they earn on traveling, buying houses and vacationing.

Image source: NVIDIA

Nvidia is growing its market capitalization faster than any other company in history. According to current and former employees, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang imposed excessive work requirements at the company and created a chaotic structure in which one manager could have dozens of subordinates. Instead of firing employees, as Nvidia’s competitors do, Huang says he prefers to “torture them to become great.”

One of the former technical support employees for Nvidia corporate clients said that he had to work 7 days a week, often until 1-2 am. According to him, many former colleagues, especially from engineering departments, worked even harder. He described the company’s environment as a “pressure cooker,” noting that several internal meetings amounted to loud, shouting matches, but added that the prospect of a good salary was difficult for him to leave the company.

Another former employee of Nvidia’s marketing division, who worked at the company until 2022, said that she often had to attend 7-10 meetings per day, each of which was attended by more than 30 people. Often such meetings developed into noisy brawls. However, she also noted that she put up with this for two years because of the opportunity to make good money.

Nvidia officials declined to comment on the matter. The company has had trouble retaining employees in recent years, partly because shares typically vest within four years, giving employees an incentive to keep working. In 2023, 5.3% of Nvidia employees left. However, after the company’s capitalization level exceeded the $1 trillion mark, this figure dropped by almost half and amounted to 2.7%. Overall, the semiconductor industry has a significantly higher turnover rate of 17.7%.

Another former employee who attended an internal meeting last year said some people complained to Huang about co-workers working in “semi-retirement” mode. It is noted that people who have worked at Nvidia for 10 years have more than enough money to retire, but are not doing so because there are millions more waiting for the next stock grant to expire.

The explosive rise in stock price also means that Nvidia employees have more savings than their counterparts at other companies in the semiconductor industry. For example, Nvidia CFO Colette Kress, who joined the company 11 years ago, owns shares worth about $758.7 million. Her Intel colleague Dave Zinsner, who has a higher salary but less experience in the company, owns shares worth $3.13 million. AMD CFO Jean Hu, who took office in 2023, owns shares worth $6.43 million.

A former Nvidia engineer said that throughout 2023 and 2024, working for the company often meant a display of wealth among employees at almost all levels. This was expressed, for example, in conversations about buying expensive things, visiting major sporting events, prestigious vacation spots, etc.

The report said that Huang, who directly reports to 60 employees, does not have time for bureaucracy, watching detailed PowerPoint presentations, or holding one-on-one meetings. He is often involved in seemingly minor decisions, such as choosing photos for marketing campaigns. The Nvidia CEO is also known for having employees regularly send emails to a centralized email address with a short list of five tasks they are working on. Sometimes he himself answers such letters to clarify details on issues of interest or to give instructions.

Huang says his leadership approach was shaped by facing “real challenges” running Nvidia for more than three decades. He tells employees that he pushes them to do their life’s work. “That’s how it should be. If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn’t be easy,” Huang said in a recent interview.

Most employees seem to approve of Huang’s unusual leadership style. Its approval rating on Glassdoor is 97%, which is higher than its peers at Alphabet (94%), Apple (87%), Meta✴ Platforms (66%) and Amazon (54%).