Siemens Strengthens Ownership Culture

Eighty percent of all Siemens employees worldwide are now also Siemens shareholders. In total, around 300,000 of the company’s 377,000 employees worldwide hold Siemens shares. The company had aimed to have about 200,000 employee shareholders by 2020. This target has now already been exceeded by a clear margin. Photo copyright Siemens AG, Munich/Berlin.

MUNICH, Germany — Monday, March 18, was “Share Day” in Germany, and Siemens marked the occasion by highlighting its firmly anchored ownership culture: some 300,000 of the company’s 379,000 employees worldwide are also Siemens shareholders. This means that nearly 80 percent of all Siemens employees are simultaneously co-owners of their company. The number of employee shareholders at Siemens has remained constant since last year. No comparable company can point to such a high number of employee shareholders.

Company awards free shares worth about €68 million (USD $77.11 million)

This year, as part of its global Share Matching Program for employees, Siemens awarded a total of around 702,300 free shares worth nearly €68 million (USD $77.11 million) to employees in 65 countries. After a three-year holding period, participating employee shareholders receive one matching share at no additional expense for every three shares purchased as part of the program.

Cents4Sense: Employees donate dividends to social projects for the first time

This year saw the launch of the Cents4Sense initiative, which enables employees around the world to donate the dividend from a single Siemens share (€3.80 — USD $4.31)). The donations are being used to support international projects run by Siemens Stiftung, a foundation active in the areas of education, developmental cooperation and culture. “The idea of donating a dividend came from four young employees, and I was enthusiastic about it right from the start,” said Mariel von Schumann, Chief of Staff at Siemens AG and a member of the Siemens Stiftung Board of Trustees. “Cents4Sense is the proof that small individual contributions can collectively create an impressive impact and make a real difference for society. It resonated with Siemens’ truly impressive employee shareholder base, showing the power of our company culture. Co-owners think long-term and act responsibly – for current and future generations.”

The company and its employees donated a total of nearly €223,000 (nearly $253,000 USD) through Cents4Sense. These funds are flowing into various social projects sponsored by the Siemens Stiftung to support the United Nation’s sustainability goals: “The Cents4Sense donations are, among other things, enabling us to train school teachers in Argentina, Peru and Nigeria to provide modern classroom instruction in science and technology. This enhances students’ problem-solving abilities and creativity, thus sharpening skills they’ll need to succeed in the 21st century,” explained Nathalie von Siemens, a Managing Director at the Siemens Stiftung. In addition, the donations are being used to support social entrepreneurship projects for supplying water and providing healthcare in the Philippines, India and Kenya.