Posco Future M Busy Expanding Business... Utilizing Company Shares to Encourage Long-Term Employment

Enhancing Sense of Belonging, Encouraging Long-Term Service, Securing Key Talent
"Various Systems to Be Implemented for Talent Acquisition"

POSCO Future M is implementing various measures to support employee long-term retention through company stock ownership.

On the 17th, POSCO Future M stated, "With the explosive growth of the secondary battery industry, competition to attract key personnel such as researchers and engineers essential for new businesses has intensified, making it more important than ever for companies to encourage long-term retention of existing talent and recruit new employees."

The number of POSCO Future M employees increased significantly from 1,795 at the end of 2020 to 2,448 at the end of March this year. However, the company explained that continuous facility expansion is planned over the next several years, making the recruitment of outstanding talent urgent.

In addition to general performance rewards for employees, POSCO Future M encourages long-term stock ownership to enhance a sense of belonging and focus on improving performance. Since last year, the company has operated a 1:1 matching program linked to employee stock purchase, where the company matches the number of shares purchased by employees.

If employees purchase stocks up to a limit of 2 million KRW, the company provides the same amount of shares individually, allowing employees to share in the increase in corporate value resulting from company growth. To encourage long-term retention, the company holds the supported stocks in escrow for four years, and if an employee resigns before three years, the stocks are reclaimed.

Last year, 88.4% of all employees participated in the 1:1 matching program, and the company allocated a total of 19,152 shares to participating employees. The purchase price was 160,783 KRW per share, and the current stock price has more than doubled. This year, the 1:1 matching program is ongoing, with 93.7% of all employees having subscribed.

Additionally, during capital increases, POSCO Future M has provided employees with opportunities to participate in the company's future growth and share its benefits by offering long-term low-interest loans based on the company's credit rating to facilitate stock purchases. Employees wishing to participate can purchase shares regardless of their existing holdings, as long as they meet the conditions for joining the employee stock ownership association under the Capital Market Act. During the capital increase in February 2021, 95.8% of employees participated, with a purchase price of 77,300 KRW per share.

This year, the company also introduced Restricted Stock Units (RSU) as a form of compensation to manage long-term retention of employees responsible for core technologies, including research, production, and some staff departments. RSUs are rights to receive a predetermined number of shares free of charge upon meeting certain conditions.

The recipients of RSUs were determined by compiling the previous year's personnel evaluations and opinions from their respective departments and reporting to the board of directors. RSUs are designed more to encourage long-term retention than to serve as performance rewards. Employees who receive RSUs must meet certain conditions such as long-term service to ultimately receive the shares. The identities of selected employees are confidential to avoid unnecessary discord among staff and to prevent them from becoming targets for competitor recruitment.

A POSCO Future M official stated, "We will continue to implement various systems to share the fruits of future growth, improve employee treatment, and attract and secure outstanding talent so that our employees can be happy."

Meanwhile, POSCO Future M is also making various efforts to attract future talent by partnering with leading domestic educational institutions such as POSTECH, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Hanyang University, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Yonsei University, and Sungkyunkwan University, including signing an agreement for a customized degree program called ‘e-Battery Track.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.