With Intel’s financial prospects improving, the chipmaker notified employees this week that it will issue stock to some of them in December to compensate for pay cuts earlier this year.

Intel cut wages, bonuses and retirement payments in January after reporting a steep decline in revenue and a grim outlook for the year. Employees and executives above Intel’s midlevel ranks had pay cuts of at least 5%, underscoring the depth of Intel’s business challenges as it plays catch-up to competitors with more advanced technology.

Intel notified employees a month later that the pay cuts were temporary, and that the chipmaker would restore their compensation late this year.

At a company meeting Tuesday, Intel Chief People Officer Christy Pambianchi notified workers that Intel will issue restricted stock to thank employees for their “sacrifices” in “this difficult time,” according to a notice in Intel’s online employee newsletter reviewed by The Oregonian.

Intel declined comment on the program, which the company calls “restore and reward.”

The Israeli tech publication CTech first reported the stock grants.

It wasn’t clear from material The Oregonian reviewed how much of the lost pay the restricted stock will cover, what kind of restrictions apply to the vesting of the stock grants, or whether the grants will apply to CEO Pat Gelsinger and other top executives. Gelsinger took a 25% hit to his base pay in March.

Companies typically must notify securities regulators of changes to CEO compensation. Intel hasn’t made any filings this week related to Gelsinger’s pay.

Intel is Oregon’s largest corporate employer, with 22,000 workers assigned to its Washington County campuses.

Earlier this week, Gov. Tina Kotek notified lawmakers she intends to award Intel $90 million in incentives to expand the company’s activities in Oregon. Plans newly filed with state environmental regulators indicate Intel plans a huge expansion of its D1X research factory in Hillsboro within the next several years, and an upgrade to a 30-year-old factory in Aloha.