Dive Brief:
- Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish immigrant who founded yogurt company Chobani in 2005, surprised 2,000 full-time workers yesterday by rewarding their efforts with ownership stakes. For some long-time employees, it could eventually make them millionaires, the New York Times reports.
- Located in upstate New York near Utica, the Times reports that Chobani employees would receive stock shares worth up to 10% of the company if its is sold or is traded publicly.
- According to Ulukaya, his concept is to share the wealth employees have helped create since the company started in 2005. Chobani is now widely considered to be worth several billion dollars, according to the Times.
Dive Insight:
Each Chobani employee was surprised on Tuesday with a packet of information indicating how many company shares they received. According to the Times, the longer an employee has been at the company, the higher the number of shares. At the current $3 billion valuation, the average employee payout would be $150,000, the Times reports, with the most tenured workers receiving shares worth over $1 million.
From an employer standpoint, Ulukaya's been generous, as the company pays above the minimum wage and offers full-time employees healthcare and other benefits, including a 401(k) plan.
“I’ve built something I never thought would be such a success, but I cannot think of Chobani being built without all these people,” Ulukaya told the Times. “Now they’ll be working to build the company even more and building their future at the same time."
