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They have to write the latter because at the time of the offer letter the share price on the conversion date is not known. If you get hired on September 1st and the first board meeting after is September 19th, your RSUs will get converted to shares on September 19th at the September 19th price. If your offer letter is written August 1st, there is no way to include the correct number of shares.

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>at the time of the offer letter the share price on the conversion date is not known

That's exactly why the notice should (and usually does) state both the RSU # and the present $ value while also indicating that it is the present value.

I think you’re assuming that it’s the value that’s variable, and not the units of stock. That already from the beginning the company has decided on how much stock to give in terms of units, not dollar value.

But the point that’s being made (as I understand it) is that certain companies, including Amazon, first decide on a dollar value, notify the employee of that value, and then later grant the commensurate number of stock units based on the price at that later time.

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