Anglo American Platinum has launched a new multibillion-rand employee share ownership scheme, targeting permanent employees, excluding executives and other management.
Eligible employees in SA and Zimbabwe will be allocated shares to the value of R8,000 per year, with each tranche vesting three years after the allocation, Amplats said in a statement on Wednesday.
The scheme will be rolled out in the fourth quarter.
Once shares have vested, employees will have the option to sell or retain them. The scheme also has a new evergreen component in addition to the annual share allocation.
As part of the evergreen component, trusts will be established in which an aggregate 2% of the shares of Rustenburg Platinum Mines will be held into perpetuity on behalf of qualifying employees.
The estimated total value of the employee share allocations over the life of the scheme is about R1.8bn, with the evergreen component estimated at R6.5bn based on the 30-day volume-weighted average price of Amplats shares as at September 23.
“Guided by our purpose, to reimagine mining to improve people’s lives, we are committed to driving shared value creation for all our stakeholders,” executive head of human resources, Virginia Tyobeka said.
This is the third employee share ownership plan for Amplats and replaces the second one, which expires this week when the final 2020 allocation vests.
The income gap between the lowest- and highest-paid employees remains a controversial topic in SA, which is regarded as one of the most unequal societies in the world.
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