50 Employee Ownership Stories
The health officials are responsibly instructing us to remain vigilant but it's difficult to ignore the downward-curve-bending headlines around the world, (even if the Woolworths shelves are still looking a bit Sovietesque). We will soon have an economic crisis to turn our minds to.
There's little doubt Australia is headed for a recession (the IMF thinks it will be 6.7% this quarter), more than double the decline rate of the world economy.
History may not repeat, but it has a way of rhyming, in my opinion.
This 2010 Deloitte report suggests that JV activity surges right after a downturn. Downturns are usually accompanied by liquidity squeezes which has a nasty effect of killing off certain planned business acquisitions. JVs surge because they are not dependent on liquid financing conditions.
It's thematic. Business sales go out of vogue, and alternatives come in.*
ESOPs are similar to JVs in that respect. They can be implemented without reliance on buoyant financing conditions, and in all honesty, represent a bit of an opportunity for employees while valuation multiples are dampened. They also have a nice bonus of making companies more competitive, resilient and ultimately desirable to buyers in the future when conditions return to normal.
I've marshalled together 50 stories on the topic of Employee Ownership from around the world.
My aim here is to add to some of the optimism people are beginning to feel and to shine a light on some ammo we still have to call upon to beat this thing.

Without further ado:
Five-year gamble pays off for JD Cooling - Norfolk’s Business of the Year
Acadian honors Houma man for services
Lytle Signs becomes Employee-Owned
Amigos transitions to employee ownership
Why 65 owners are better than one
Ireland’s First Ever Employee Ownership Day
Morton Buildings is one business that is now 100 percent employee owned
Letter to the Editor: Piggly Wiggly
Employee-Owned Multi-Disciplinary A/E Firm, ISG, Earns Star Tribune 2017 Top Workplace Award
Businesses urged to consider Employee Ownership model as an alternative
Greenfield’s Ewing Controls invests in itself as it takes on international projects
Scotland’s economy: surge in employee-owned companies
FairWay change positive for staff and customers
Arup seeks to be first airport to obtain LEED Platinum certification
Cash no longer key to retaining employees
Modern Times Beer Is Becoming Employee Owned
High hopes after staff takeover at Grasshoppers Day Nursery
Employee-owned Fresno firm celebrates 85th birthday
How can the growth of employee ownership be supported?
Vermeer Great Plains becomes employee-owned through stock ownership plan
Billings Clinic sells Aspen Meadows assisted living facility
Cement maker ARM's employees buy 15 per cent stake in company
Metal fabricator puts stock in employees
Engineering firm becomes entirely employee stock ownership plan-owned
Once A Craft Beer Darling, New Belgium Brewing Is Struggling To Go From Niche To National
Barbour Publishing Goes Employee Owned
North Star Air adds ATR 42-300 aircraft to its fleet
Golder Associates - finding resilience in a transforming industry
Reform of China’s ailing state-owned firms is emboldening them
Trinity Logistics announces employee ownership plan
ESOP Association Salutes Senators Cardin (D-MD) and Roberts (R-KS) For Introducing Pro-ESOP Bill
Employees take over 51-year old enterprise in Australia as worker co-op
STEPHENS SCOWN UPS STAFF PAY-OUT
Boomer Entrepreneurs: Selling Their Businesses Without Selling Out
Simple tax change could help boost employee share ownership
Von Tobel, A Company That Champions its Employees
While Other U.S. Companies Flee China, Starbucks Doubles Down
Recently Closed Loring Pasta Bar to Relaunch Under Employee Ownership
Precision aircraft parts from Minden’s Royal plant soar around the world
'You'd be negligent': Why professionals are abandoning partnerships
HOP TAKE: GIANT CORPORATIONS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES BUYING UP BREWERIES ANYMORE
Econofoods in process of purchasing Jubilee
Reliance Cap gifts stock options
Santa Maria's Hardy Diagnostics makes Inc. 5000 list a sixth time
Crowley Puerto Rico Services Expedites Cargo Offloading, Prepares for Hurricane Irma
Public 'trusts employee-owned businesses more'
Invest in employees, diversify to meet the shifting landscape
Employee-owned businesses seen more trustworthy than businesses not owned by their employees
GHD announces record financial performance