• Amazon has had a hard time retaining talent through its restricted stock units (RSUs).

• According to annual filings, the company continues to have a high amount of stock forfeitures.

• Experts say high forfeitures are an indication of high turnover and other issues.

It was through an internal leak that Monique found out she was among the group of employees being laid off from Amazon in April. Having had time to go through some of the stages of grief, like anger, denial, and depression, Monique, who works in human resources, said she was in the acceptance phase when the company emailed her at 7:00a.m. one day that her role was eliminated.

Monique joined the 27,000 workers Amazon announced it would cut earlier this year.

Monique, who asked for Insider not to use her real name for fear of retaliation, said she hadn't planned to stay with Amazon for much longer anyway.

"Amazon's benefits just don't really measure up to the other tech companies," she said. "This last round of compensation reviews wasn't very lucrative because of everything that's going on at Amazon and I'm looking to make more money."

Amazon's compensation package, which includes a base pay of cash and employee stock, has clearly been enough to attract new talent. But it isn't necessarily enough to keep them around. Employees are taking the cash and leaving most of their stock behind for greener pastures, according to Insider analysis of annual filings. The number of employee stock units Amazon expects to cancel every year because of workers leaving before they can fully vest remains higher than other technology companies.

Experts say that is a hidden sign of high turnover and employee dissatisfaction with benefits and perks.

Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Apple have had forfeiture rates under 8% from 2019 to 2022, with a few companies being as low as or lower than 3%, according to Insider's analysis.  The Information reported in 2018 similar rates. All four companies declined to comment or didn't respond to request for comment.