The voestalpine employee shareholding scheme is celebrating its 25th anniversary—and the successful model is still expanding

19 March 2025 |

For years, the voestalpine employee shareholding scheme has been considered exemplary in Europe. The concept was developed in the year 2000. It bundles voting rights in an employee shareholding foundation, contributing significantly to the stable ownership structure of the Group, and also enabling employees to participate directly in the company’s success. Employees at voestalpine currently hold over 14% of the voting rights in voestalpine AG. Until now, shares from the voestalpine employee shareholding scheme were not given to the Austrian employees until they left the company. This year, as an exception, the portion of shares no longer subject to tax-related holding periods will be issued before the end of the employment relationship. This will both create space for future allocations and ensure that employees’ shareholding permanently remains within the designated voting rights range of 10% to 15%.

The voestalpine employee shareholding scheme is the largest of its kind in Austria, in terms of both the percentage of voting rights and the value of shares.

The continuous improvement of the employee shareholding scheme is a key part of our strategy for securing a sustainable ownership structure in the long run. Our concept of employees being core shareholders is one of a kind in Europe and an inspiration for many other companies. With this latest change, we are safeguarding the future of our unique scheme—along with all its benefits for our employees and the company.

Herbert Eibensteiner, CEO of voestalpine AG

This pioneering model was developed 25 years ago as a joint project by Management and the Works Council to ensure a strong core shareholder base as the Group transitioned to a listed company on the stock exchange. They agreed to give employees a target range of 10% to just under 15% of voting rights. This makes a potential hostile takeover more difficult because the employee shareholding scheme, with its voting rights share of over 10%, can help prevent a potential squeeze-out. The share of voting rights is now just below the 15% threshold, which is why, as an exception for the scheme’s 25th anniversary, a portion of the shares—specifically those allocated until 2017 with the 5-year tax retention period applicable at the time—will be issued before the end of the employment relationship.

In addition to all Austrian employees, employees in eleven other European countries now also own shares in voestalpine. At the end of the 2023/24 business year (March 31, 2024), around 26,000 active employees held approximately 25 million voestalpine shares.

The voestalpine Group

voestalpine is a globally leading steel and technology group with a unique combination of materials and processing expertise. voestalpine, which operates globally, has around 500 Group companies and locations in more than 50 countries on all five continents. The voestalpine Group has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its premium products and system solutions, voestalpine is a leading partner to the automotive and consumer goods industries, as well as to the aerospace and energy industries. The company is also the global market leader in railway systems, tool steel, and special sections. voestalpine is committed to the global climate goals and has a clear plan for transforming steel production with its greentec steel program. In the business year 2023/24, the Group generated revenue of EUR 16.7 billion, with an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 1.7 billion; it has around 51,600 employees worldwide.

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