A pro-worker experiment in private equity

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If your company got bought by a private equity firm, how would you feel? Maybe a little nervous? You might find yourself wondering if there will be layoffs.

And you’d be right to worry about that. Research shows that while private equity ownership can boost a company’s productivity, it does generally result in job cuts. 

But one private equity executive is trying to do things a different way – giving workers equity, little cuts of ownership in their own companies. To see if doing so can improve outcomes overall. 

On today’s show, private equity is not widely beloved for its societal costs – job losses, product degradation, worsening inequality. And this one guy at this one firm can’t solve all of his industry’s ills. But for the past 15 years, he’s been running a large-scale, real-world experiment to see if giving workers ownership can fit into the big bad world of PE. And maybe lead to more … equity. 

Recommended Listening/Reading:

What Do Private Equity Firms Actually Do?
The risk of private equity in your 401(k)
Here's what happens when private equity buys homes in your neighborhood (newsletter)
JScrewed 

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This episode was hosted by Mary Childs and Wailin Wong. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang with an assist from Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, engineered by Cena Loffredo with help from Jimmy Keeley. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. 

Music: Universal Production Music - "Make Me Want You," "Baby I Surrender," and "Bye Bye Bye"

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