Coca-Cola SA to give 10% of shares to employees

Coca-Cola SA employees are up for an early bonus as the company hs announced that it will transfer an additional 10% of shares to its employees in a move to enhance its black economic empowerment status and meet its revised merger conditions.

Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel, together with the managing director of Coca-Cola, announced the agreement during a media briefing on Friday.

The announcement means at least 8,000 employees who already held 5% of the private company will now own 15% with the addition of other partners, the company will be 20% black-owned.

This comes after the Coca-Cola company and SAB-Miller reached an agreement to combine the bottling operations of their non-alcoholic beverages.

The merger required the parties to increase black empowerment ownership to reverse decades of economic exclusion of black people.

Patel said the deal would help benefit employees and other partners as well as non-white investors.

“The commitment from Coca-Cola to increase their worker ownership in the company is one of the important steps in efforts to create an economy that belongs to all, an economy in which all South Africans feel there is space for them to deepen the involvement of workers in the boards of companies and of course, in owning shares in companies.”

Main Image: CCBSA