Trucking Company’s ESOP: How Employee Ownership Drives Low Turnover at 35%
Nussbaum Transportation, a fleet of about 600 trucks, began operating under an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in 2018. For CEO Brent Nussbaum, the decision was tied to a long-standing family business philosophy: “take care of your people.”
The company’s experience highlights one way a trucking employer is addressing a persistent industry challenge—retaining drivers and other employees in a labor market where turnover can be costly for both workers and fleets.
Nussbaum has reported driver turnover of 35%, a figure described as low for the trucking industry. The company attributes that performance in part to employee ownership, which gives eligible workers an opportunity to build an ownership interest in the business through a retirement benefit plan.
Ownership as part of a retention strategy
An ESOP is a federally regulated retirement plan that can own part or all of a company. The plan is structured as a trust that holds company shares on behalf of participating employees and other beneficiaries.
For drivers, the benefit is different from ordinary company stock purchased through a personal investment account. An ESOP is established by the employer as part of its compensation and retirement structure, with participation and vesting governed by the plan’s rules. Over time, eligible employees may accumulate an interest in the company while continuing to earn wages and perform their regular jobs.
That structure can give employees a longer-term connection to the company than a traditional paycheck alone. In a trucking operation, where drivers work independently for much of the day and may have many employment options, the connection can be particularly significant. Pay, home time, equipment and dispatch practices still shape a driver’s decision to stay, but an ownership benefit adds another consideration.
Nussbaum’s approach reflects the view that employees are more likely to remain with a company when they believe their work contributes to an organization they have a stake in. The company’s transition was also presented as a way to preserve the identity and continuity of the business rather than transferring it to a public company or another outside owner.
Why turnover matters to drivers and fleets
Driver turnover affects more than a carrier’s recruiting statistics. Replacing a driver can require recruiting, orientation, qualification, onboarding and training. During that process, trucks may sit idle or be assigned to less experienced personnel. High churn can also place additional pressure on the drivers who remain, particularly when a fleet is trying to cover scheduled freight with fewer available employees.
Lower turnover may help a carrier maintain more experienced personnel, strengthen customer relationships and reduce the repeated costs associated with hiring. For drivers, a stable workforce can mean greater familiarity with dispatchers, maintenance teams, routes and operating expectations.
Still, employee ownership does not replace the basic conditions that determine whether a driving job is workable. Compensation, safety, equipment quality, scheduling and respect from management remain central to driver retention. An ESOP is one part of a broader employment model, not a guarantee that every employee will remain with a company.
Employee ownership and workplace culture
Research from the employee-ownership field has found that ownership tends to have a stronger effect when it is paired with employee empowerment. In that setting, workers are not simply assigned an ownership interest; they also have meaningful opportunities to understand the business and influence how work is performed.
That distinction is important in trucking. Drivers may be owners on paper, but the benefit is more meaningful when the company explains how the ESOP works, communicates its financial and operational goals, and gives drivers a voice on issues affecting their daily work. Safety procedures, maintenance policies, scheduling and customer requirements are all areas where employee input can influence operations.
The Institute for Employee Ownership has reported dramatically lower turnover in companies that combine employee ownership with a workplace culture built around empowerment. The research supports the broader idea that ownership works best when employees can see how their decisions and performance affect the organization.
A broader role for ESOPs
ESOPs are one of several forms of employee ownership in the United States. Other models include worker cooperatives and employee ownership trusts. Under an ESOP, the company’s shares are held in trust for participants and beneficiaries, which can include current employees, vested former employees who have not retired and retirees.
Employee ownership has also received increased attention from policymakers. Provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 directed the U.S. Department of Labor to establish an Employee Ownership Initiative intended to promote employee ownership and employee participation.
Interest extends to transportation and other privately held businesses whose owners are considering succession plans. An ESOP can provide a path for transferring ownership while keeping a company operating under its existing name and structure. It may also allow employees to share in the value created by the business over time.
For Nussbaum Transportation, the 2018 transition connects succession, culture and retention. Its reported 35% driver turnover offers a practical example of how employee ownership can fit into a trucking company’s workforce strategy. The result depends not only on the plan itself, but on how the company treats employees and how clearly it connects ownership with the work drivers do every day.