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TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Chobani's CEO visited a plant in Twin Falls to tell workers about the company's plan to give employees an ownership stake in the privately held company.
The Times-News reports (http://bit.ly/1UlC33A ) Hamdi Ulukaya met with workers Thursday to explain that the company would give about 2,000 full-time employees ownership stakes totaling about 10 percent of the company.
The amount each employee receives is based on time at the company, but the average is likely to be about $150,000. For the company's earliest employees, the stake could be worth more than $1 million.
"This isn't a gift. It's a mutual promise to work together with a shared purpose and responsibility," Ulukaya previously wrote in a letter to employees.
A number of Idaho workers said they were surprised by the announcement. They said having an ownership stake in the company makes Chobani feel more like a family business.
"He was talking about basically our future as a family," said Julio Montenegro, production lead for Chobani Kids products. "He doesn't separate us, it's all one family. We're here together and we're going to move forward together."
Area Manager for Flips and Kids products Justin Sorenson said the announcement was a "dream come true," but also not unbelievable. He said Ulukaya, who is also the founder of the yogurt giant, has always run the business with attention to employee well-being.
"We're here to do one thing," he said, "which is to provide good product to the community and our people out there."
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Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com
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