H-E-B Grocery Company LP has just announced in a press release that they are having a new employee ownership plan.
Under the plan, 55,000 employees are eligible to receive a portion of stock in the company.
H-E-B said in the press release that they anticipate their employees, whom they are calling also as their partners, will own approximately 15 percent of the company over time.
The Butt family, who founded and own H-E-B, will still remain as the primary owners of the company.
H-E-B adds in the press release that the plan rewards the hard work, dedication, and loyalty of their partners and commemorates the 110th anniversary of the company.
The company was founded in 1905 by Florence Butt in a tiny store in Kerrville, Texas.
Charles Butt, the chairman and CEO of H-E-B, said in the press release that the "Partner Stock Plan" is a milestone and the company's way of recognizing the "most important resource, our people."
"Our Partners are the competitive edge that brings innovation, growth, and success to H‑E‑B," he said.
He adds in the press release that this plan has been his "dream for decades."
"It is a gift that recognizes our Partners' ongoing commitment to H‑E‑B. Our Partners shaped our past, define our present, and will lead us into the future," he said.
The Dallas Morning News adds that Butt is ranked third on Glassdoor's Highest Rated CEOs list in 2015 while H-E-B ranked seventh on Glassdoor's Employees' Choice Awards for 2015.
The company employs more than 86,000 people in Texas and 9,000 in Mexico.
The Dallas Morning News adds that H-E-B operates 370 stores in Texas and Mexico and is Texas State's largest Texas-based company employer.
H-E-B said in the press release that eligible partners will receive a grant of stock valued at 3 percent of their salary starting January 2016.
They will also receive $100 in stock value for each year of continuous service completed by the end of 2015.
H-E-B adds in the press release that they will provide yearly contributions to the stock plan based on the company's performance.
For a partner to be eligible, he or she must be 21 years old, have completed at least one year of service, and worked at least 1,000 hours in a calendar year.
