billion+ in stock buybacks, while employee wage growth below inflation
Pros
Remote work still largely supported in the US. If you're lucky you can end up on a good team, but there's lots of restructuring so that may not last. Vacation time and benefits comparable to other major companies.
Cons
Over the past few years, Pearson has been profitable. There was £850 million total spend on stock buybacks across 2024 and 2025, and another round announced for 2026, bringing the 3-year total to £1.2 billion. During this time, annual wage increases have been less than inflation, so employees are taking a pay cut in real dollars. Pearson is profitable but overly focused on shareholder value while employees take a hit. It's never enough for current leadership. Workers are tuning out, which happens when hard work is not rewarded and leadership lacks credibility.
