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STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
Equity Compensation Plans
The Company maintains the Hudson Global, Inc. 2009 Incentive Stock and Awards Plan, as amended and restated on May 24, 2016 and further amended on September 14, 2020 and May 17, 2022 (the “ISAP”), pursuant to which it can issue equity-based compensation incentives to eligible participants. The ISAP permits the granting of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and other types of equity-based awards. The Compensation Committee (the “Compensation Committee”) of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) will establish such conditions as it deems appropriate on the granting or vesting of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and other types of equity-based awards. As determined by the Compensation Committee, equity awards may also be subject to immediate vesting upon the occurrence of certain events including death, disability, retirement or a change in control of the Company. When we make grants of restricted stock or restricted stock units to our executive officers, including the named executive officers, we enter into Restricted Stock Agreements and Restricted Stock Unit Agreements with such executive officers that contain provisions that are triggered upon a termination of an executive officer or a change in control of our Company. For awards of restricted stock granted beginning on November 6, 2015, effective upon a change in control of our Company, if the executive is employed by us or an affiliate of ours immediately prior to the date of such change in control and is subsequently terminated within 12 months following the date of such change in control, the shares of restricted stock will fully vest and the restrictions imposed upon the restricted stock will be immediately deemed to have lapsed. For awards of restricted stock units granted beginning on March 10, 2016, effective upon a change in control of our Company, if the executive is employed by us or an affiliate of ours immediately prior to the date of such change in control and is subsequently terminated within 12 months following the date of such change in control, the restricted stock units will fully vest and the restrictions imposed upon the restricted stock units will be immediately deemed to have lapsed. The Company primarily grants restricted stock and restricted stock units to its employees. A restricted stock unit is equivalent to one share of the Company’s common stock and is payable only in common stock of the Company issued under the ISAP.
The Compensation Committee administers the ISAP and may designate any of the following as a participant under the ISAP: any officer or other employee of the Company or its affiliates or individuals engaged to become an officer or employee, consultants, or other independent contractors who provide services to the Company or its affiliates, and non-employee directors of the Company. On May 17, 2022, the Company’s stockholders at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders approved amendments to the ISAP to, among other things, increase the number of shares of the Company’s common stock that are reserved for issuance by 250,000 shares. As of December 31, 2023, there were 150,307 shares of the Company’s common stock available for future issuance under the ISAP.
During the year 2023, the Company granted 28,841 restricted stock units subject to performance vesting conditions for the year ended December 31, 2023 and granted 1,250 of discretionary time-vested restricted stock units to certain employees that were not subject to performance conditions for the year ended December 31, 2023. Additionally, 65,105 time-vested restricted stock units were granted to the Global Chief Executive Officer at Hudson RPO. In the previous year, 2022, the Company granted 50,160 restricted stock units subject to performance vesting conditions and granted an additional 5,250 of discretionary time-vested restricted stock units to certain employees that were not subject to performance conditions for the year ended December 31, 2022.
A summary of the quantity and vesting conditions for stock-based units granted to the Company’s employees for the year ended December 31, 2023 was as follows:
Vesting conditionsNumber of Restricted Stock Units Granted
Performance and service conditions - Type 1 (1) (2)
7,736 
Performance and service conditions - Type 2 (1) (2)
21,105 
Service conditions only - Type 1 (2)
66,355 
Total shares of stock award granted95,196 

(1)The performance conditions with respect to restricted stock units may be satisfied as follows: 
(a)For grants to Corporate office employees subject to 2023 performance conditions, 100% of the restricted stock units may be earned on the basis of performance as measured by a “group adjusted EBITDA”.
(2)To the extent restricted stock units are earned, such restricted stock units will vest on the basis of service as follows:
(a)33% and 66.6% for Type 1 and Type 2, respectively, of the restricted stock units will vest on the first anniversary of the grant date;
(b)33% and 16.7% for Type 1 and Type 2, respectively, of the restricted stock units will vest on the second anniversary of the grant date; and
(c)34% and 16.7% for Type 1 and Type 2, respectively, of the restricted stock units will vest on the third anniversary of the grant date; provided that, in each case, the employee remains employed by the Company from the grant date through the applicable service vesting date.
The Company also maintains the Director Deferred Share Plan (the “Director Plan”) as part of the ISAP pursuant to which it can issue restricted stock units to its non-employee directors. A restricted stock unit is equivalent to one share of the Company’s common stock and is payable only in common stock issued under the ISAP upon a director ceasing service as a member of the Company’s Board. The restricted stock units vest immediately upon grant and are credited to each of the non-employee director’s retirement accounts under the Director Plan. Restricted stock units issued under the Director Plan contain the right to a dividend equivalent award in the form of additional restricted stock units. The dividend equivalent award is calculated using the same rate as the cash dividend paid on a share of the Company’s common stock, and then divided by the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date the dividend is paid to determine the number of additional restricted stock units to grant. Dividend equivalent awards have the same vesting terms as the underlying awards. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company granted 20,728 and 10,084 restricted stock units to its non-employee directors pursuant to the Director Plan, respectively.
As of December 31, 2023, 264,144 restricted stock units are deferred under the Company’s ISAP.
On October 1, 2020, the Company granted 52,226 restricted shares of common stock to be issued over 30 months in connection with its acquisition of Coit Staffing, Inc. Accordingly, for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized $16 and $108 in stock-based compensation. See Note 5 for additional information.
For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s stock-based compensation expense related to restricted stock units and restricted shares of common stock, which are included in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations, were as follows: 
 For The Year Ended December 31,
 20232022
Restricted shares of common stock$16 $108 
Restricted stock units1,453 2,210 
Total$1,469 $2,318 

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s unrecognized compensation expense and the weighted average periods over which the compensation expense is expected to be recognized relating to the unvested portion of the Company’s restricted stock unit awards, were as follows: 

As of December 31,
20232022
Unrecognized ExpenseWeighted Average Period in YearsUnrecognized ExpenseWeighted Average Period in Years
Restricted shares of common stock$— 0$16 0.2
Restricted stock units$1,346 0.9$1,519 0.8
Restricted Stock Units 
Changes in the Company’s restricted stock units arising from grants to certain employees and non-employee directors for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:

Year Ended December 31, 2023
Performance-basedTime-based/Director Total
Number of Shares of Restricted Stock UnitsWeighted Average Grant-Date Fair ValueNumber of Shares of Restricted Stock UnitsWeighted Average Grant-Date Fair ValueNumber of Shares of Restricted Stock UnitsWeighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested restricted stock units at January 1130,186 $23.56 33,390 $20.31 163,576 $22.89 
Granted28,841 $22.27 87,083 $15.76 115,924 $17.39 
Shares earned above target (a)3,940 $35.72 — $— 3,940 $35.72 
Vested(58,834)$22.10 (36,321)$18.06 (95,155)$20.56 
Forfeited(8,869)$35.10 (3,730)$18.26 (12,599)$30.11 
Unvested restricted stock units at December 3195,264 $23.49 80,422 $16.50 175,686 $20.29 
 (a)    The number of shares earned above target are based on the performance target established by the Compensation Committee at the initial grant date.
(a)     The number of shares earned above target are based on the performance targets established by the Compensation Committee at the initial grant date.

Year Ended December 31, 2022
Performance-basedTime-based/Director Total
Number of Shares of Restricted Stock UnitsWeighted Average Grant-Date Fair ValueNumber of Shares of Restricted Stock UnitsWeighted Average Grant-Date Fair ValueNumber of Shares of Restricted Stock UnitsWeighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested restricted stock units at January 1121,393 $15.88 46,500 $17.15 167,893 $16.23 
Granted50,160 $35.37 15,334 $35.92 65,494 $35.50 
Shares earned above target (a)36,884 $16.70 — $— 36,884 $16.70 
Vested(78,251)$15.99 (24,769)$24.68 (103,020)$18.08 
Forfeited— $— (3,675)$16.04 (3,675)$16.04 
Unvested restricted stock units at December 31130,186 $23.56 33,390 $20.31 163,576 $22.89 
 (a)    The number of shares earned above target are based on the performance target established by the Compensation Committee at the initial grant date.
(a)     The number of shares earned above target are based on the performance targets established by the Compensation Committee at the initial grant date.
The total fair value of restricted stock units vested during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:
For The Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Fair value of restricted stock units vested$1,976 $3,311 
Shares of Common Stock 
Changes in the Company’s restricted shares of common stock were as follows:
For The Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Number of Shares of Restricted Stock UnitsWeighted Average Grant-Date Fair ValueNumber of Shares of Restricted Stock UnitsWeighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested restricted shares of common stock units at January 117,410 $9.57 34,818 $9.57 
Vested(17,410)$9.57 (17,408)$9.57 
Unvested restricted shares of common stock units at December 31— $— 17,410 $9.57 
 
The total fair value of restricted shares of common stock during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:
For The Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Fair value of restricted shares of common stock vested$— $675