The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity has partnered with Project Equity to launch Employee Ownership L.A. County, a new business succession and recovery service aimed at preserving legacy small businesses and creating opportunities for shared ownership, wealth generation and economic mobility for workers and owners.

The service will help business owners explore options to sell their company to their employees while preserving jobs and maintaining wealth opportunities. The program will feature education, technical assistance and direct transition support for participating businesses and workers.

According to a study by Project Equity, approximately half of privately held businesses in L.A. County are owned by people nearing retirement. There are more than 25,000 local businesses over 20 years old that account for over 750,000 local jobs and more than $225 billion in local revenue.

The pandemic has made recruitment and retention of employees more challenging for business owners, ultimately slowing recovery of operations.

“Employee Ownership is a priority of the Second District because it’s a proven inclusive economic development strategy that builds wealth for workers and helps retain and strengthen locally owned businesses,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, 2nd District.

Project Equity will provide hands-on support to companies that want to explore employee ownership transitions. The initiative will be partially launched through the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds.

Business owners interested in employee ownership are encouraged to visit opportunity.lacounty.gov/employee-ownership.