This is a list of notable employee-owned companies by country. These are companies totally or significantly owned (directly or indirectly) by their employees. [1]
Employee ownership takes different forms and one form may predominate in a particular country. For example, in the U.S. over 5,700 of the roughly 6,400 employee-owned companies have an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). [2] An ESOP is an employee-owner method that provides a company's workforce with an ownership interest in the company. In an ESOP, companies provide their employees with stock ownership, often at no up-front cost to the employees. ESOP shares, however, are part of employees' remuneration for work performed. Shares are allocated to employees and may be held in an ESOP trust until the employee retires or leaves the company. The shares are then sold.
Worker cooperatives are another form of employee ownership wherein workers are exclusive owners and managers of the firm, with one vote per employee in democratic decision-making.
A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. Cooperatives may include:
Amul is an acronym of the Indian Multinational cooperative society named Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation based in Anand, Gujarat. It is under the ownership of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited, Department of Cooperation, Government of Gujarat. It is controlled by 3.6 million milk producers.
Glanbia plc is an Irish global nutrition group with operations in 32 countries. It has leading market positions in sports nutrition, cheese, dairy ingredients, speciality non-dairy ingredients and vitamin and mineral premixes. Glanbia products are sold or distributed in over 130 countries. While Europe and the USA represent the biggest markets, the Group are continuing to expand into the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Glanbia's primary listing is on Euronext Dublin. The Group has four segments; Glanbia Nutritionals, Performance Nutrition, Glanbia Ireland and Joint Ventures & Associates, with a combined workforce of over 7,000 employees in 32 countries.
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which management is elected by every worker-owner who each have one vote.
Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company. US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Employee Share Purchase Plans are common, wherein deductions are made from an employee's salary to purchase shares over time. In Australia it is common to have all employee plans that provide employees with $1,000 worth of shares on a tax free basis. Such plans may be selective or all-employee plans. Selective plans are typically only made available to senior executives. All-employee plans offer participation to all employees.
The United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) is a federation of worker cooperatives in the United States. USFWC was founded at the U.S. Conference of Democratic Workplaces in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May 2004.
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is a statutory body set up by an Act of the Parliament of India and an Institution of National Importance. It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying of the Government of India. The main office is in Anand, Gujarat with regional offices throughout the country. NDDB's subsidiaries include Indian Dairy Machinery Company Ltd (IDMC), Mother Dairy and Indian Immunologicals Limited, Hyderabad, NDDB Dairy Services, NDDB Mrida Ltd., NDDB CALF Ltd. The Board was created to finance and support producer-owned and controlled organisations. Its programmes and activities seek to strengthen farmer cooperatives and support national policies that are favourable to the growth of such institutions. Cooperative principles and cooperative strategies are fundamental to the board's efforts.
An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities.
Clover Industries Limited is a branded foods and beverages group that used to be listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company was delisted after a takeover by Milco, led by the Central Bottling Company from Israel.
Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (DFA) is a national milk marketing cooperative in the United States. DFA markets members' raw milk and sells milk and derivative products to wholesale buyers both domestically and abroad. Net sales in 2016 were $13.5 billion, representing about 22 percent of raw milk production in the United States.
The Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF), known by its trade name Milma, is a state government cooperative society established in 1980 headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram. It is a state government cooperative owned by the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of Kerala. KCMMF is a Federation of three Regional Milk Unions: the ERCMPU, TRCMPU and MRCMPU.
The South Korean National Agricultural Cooperative Federation was established in 1961 to enhance the social and economic status of its membership and to promote a balanced development of the national economy. Its role is divided into three areas: marketing and supply, banking and insurance, and extension services.
The Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation also known as OMFED is a state government cooperative under the ownership of Ministry of Cooperation, Government of Odisha. It is situated at Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Odisha. It is an apex level Milk Producers' Federation in Odisha registered under Cooperative Society Act – 1962. Omfed was established based on AMUL pattern under operation flood-II of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), for promoting, production, procurement, processing and marketing of milk & milk products initially in undivided districts of Puri, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar.
An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in the United States is a defined contribution plan, a form of retirement plan as defined by 4975(e)(7)of IRS codes, which became a qualified retirement plan in 1974. It is one of the methods of employee participation in corporate ownership.
The cooperative movement in India plays a crucial role in the agricultural sector, banking and housing. The history of cooperatives in India is more than a hundred years old. Cooperatives developed very rapidly after Indian independence. According to an estimate, more than half a million cooperative societies are active in the country. Many cooperative societies, particularly in rural areas, increase political participation and are used as a stepping stone by aspiring politicians.
Tirlán is an Irish dairy co-operative. The co-operative has its roots in a series of amalgamations of small rural co-operative creamery societies throughout County Kilkenny, most notably the amalgamation of Avonmore Creameries Federation in 1966.
In the United States, there is a widespread practice of employee stock ownership. It began with industrial companies and today is particularly common in the technology sector but also companies in other industries, such as Whole Foods and Starbucks.
