Why U.S. small business owners are selling their companies to their employees

Baby boomers own around 12 million businesses across the U.S., and around 70 percent of their companies are expected to be sold when they retire. Worker cooperatives have gained popularity among business owners. As many as 40 percent of U.S. co-ops are born from businesses sold to employees by the original owners. Employee-owned cooperatives offer many benefits, such as lower rates of employee turnover and both higher profits and wages. Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI), a nonprofit organization that supports the development of worker co-ops, says that productivity increases an average of 4 to 5 percent.