Mining major Vedanta said its Employee Stock Option program (ESOP) has generated a financial impact of about Rs 2,500 crore for its employees over the last 5 years. The company stated that it has delivered India’s largest employee equity grant in the manufacturing sector.
Further, Vedanta said that in 2025, it granted stock options worth over Rs 500 crores to approximately 1,200 first-time recipients, including freshers. The company said that one of the key factors behind the success of its ESOP programme is the allotment of shares at a deeply discounted price of Rs 1.
“The most recent vesting cycle of ESOP 2022 has delivered more than 80% 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.
“Rs 2500 crore is the value of the grant given over the past five years (2020-2025). These are not all vested yet. Vesting will be basis business performance as and when they become due. The vesting period is 3 years”, the company said.
Vedanta ESOP key features
Vedanata said that its ESOP covers about 40 per cent of its total workforce across different career levels, from fresher to top executives, and verticals, from plant to corporate functions. The company has extended ESOP grants to eligible freshers and early-career professionals, amounting to nearly 30 per cent of fixed pay over the standard three-year vesting cycle.
The company said that, with steady share price appreciation over the years, ESOPs have enabled thousands of employees to achieve major life milestones, such as purchasing homes, funding higher education, buying their first car, supporting their families, and building long-term savings.
Vedanta stock performance
Vedanta’s ESOP plan has largely been attractive to the employees due to its consistent performance on the stock market. In the last 5 years, Vedanta’s stock price has increased by 308 per cent. In the last year, Vedanta’s share price has increased by 48.8 per cent.
In the last six months, when the BSE Sensex has declined by 0.35 per cent, Vedanta’s stock has climbed by 48.9 per cent. Similarly, over the last month, the BSE Sensex has fallen by 4.2 per cent, but Vedanta’s stock has risen by 15.3 per cent.
“When the options were granted three years ago, I didn’t fully realise their potential. But as Vedanta’s share price rose sharply and hit record highs, vesting them recently came at exactly the right time.”Neeraj Kumar, Manager, Smelting Operations at Hindustan Zinc, said.