Vedanta creates ₹2,500 crore employee wealth through ESOPs over 5 years

Vedanta said its ESOP programmes have generated nearly ₹2,500 cr in employee wealth over five years, with the latest stock option grants expanding coverage to freshers and early-career professionals

Vedanta Ltd has created nearly Rs 2,500 crore in financial gains for employees through its employee stock option (ESOP) programmes over the past five years, making it one of the largest broad-based equity distributions in India’s manufacturing sector, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

 

What does Vedanta’s latest ESOP cycle include? 

In its latest cycle, ESOP 2025, the company has granted stock options worth over Rs 500 crore. About 1,200 employees, mostly first-time recipients, including freshers, received allocations. Vedanta’s ESOP programme now covers around 40 per cent of its workforce.

 

“It extends grants to freshers and early-career professionals, who are eligible for allocations amounting to nearly 30 per cent of fixed pay over the standard three-year vesting cycle, making Vedanta one of the only conglomerates offering ESOPs to freshers,” the company said.

 

How are ESOPs structured to benefit employees? 

An employee stock option plan (ESOP) is an employee benefit that gives workers an ownership interest in the company in the form of shares of stock.

 

The company said the ESOPs are allotted at a grant price of Re 1, which significantly lowers the entry barrier for employees and amplifies gains when the stock appreciates.

 

How much wealth has the recent vesting cycle generated? 

“The most recent vesting cycle of ESOP 2022 has delivered more than 80 per cent share value appreciation, generating more than Rs 300 crore in wealth for employees, reflecting the strong linkage between organisational performance and employee reward,” the company said.

 

Vedanta Ltd shares closed 0.7 per cent higher at Rs 676.7 on the BSE on Wednesday.