According to reports from major industry outlets, ByteDance issued a company-wide letter on October 13, announcing a new round of stock option buybacks, with a pre-tax buyback price of $241.35 per share, the same as the price circulated in early September. The buyback includes participation from former employees, particularly those who recently left due to business adjustments, with the buyback price being the same for both former and current employees, without any discounts. According to the company-wide letter, the buyback amount is calculated based on each granted option. For total package and other types of options, such as those granted upon hiring or adjustments to the total package, employees can apply to buy back 50% of the vested shares in each batch after they vest, with an additional 10% increase for each year thereafter. For performance-based options granted before January 1, 2026, employees can apply to buy back 100% of the vested shares in each batch after they vest; for grants on or after January 1, 2026, they can apply to buy back 55% of the vested shares after vesting, with an additional 15% increase for each year thereafter. For bonus-based options, employees can apply to buy back 50% of the vested shares one year after the first vesting date, and 100% after two years. The company-wide letter also indicated that total package options granted upon hiring require approximately five years to achieve 100% vesting, while options granted for outstanding performance take about three to four years to fully vest.