Not only are there 70,000 workers, they are also co-owners. This is the strategy of the largest industrial cooperative in the world

Marisa Fernández, a dedicated employee at the Eroski hypermarket, lost her husband to cancer, and the company not only adjusted her hours, but offered emotional support in difficult times. Now, Marisa has reciprocated this gesture by volunteering to work overtime during the store’s renovations.

This atmosphere of collaboration and compromise is no accident. The Eroski chain is part of the Mondragón Corporation, the largest industrial cooperative in the world. Here, employees are not just workers, but co-owners, invested in the company’s success. “We work a lot, but it’s a totally different feeling to working for someone else,” says Marisa to ‘The Guardian’.

Made up of 81 autonomous cooperatives, Mondragón has grown since its founding in 1956 to become an economic powerhouse in the Basque Country. More than just seeking profit, the company prioritizes the well-being of its workers, with whom it shares profits.

When Fagor Electrodomésticos, one of the affiliated cooperatives, went bankrupt in 2013, Mondragón scrambled to find alternative employment for the 1,900 affected workers.

More than its economic success, Mondragón has become a beacon for the cooperative model, as a more humane and egalitarian way of doing business that puts “people above capital”. Each worker has a stake in the company’s destiny and a say in how it is managed, and receives a share of the profits.

But the objective is more to create “rich societies, not rich people”, reveal the same source. This means taking care of workers not just in good times, but also in difficult times.

However, Mondragón faces criticism for its participation in the global capitalist system, including the outsourcing of part of its production to lower-wage countries. However, his human-centered approach and economic success demonstrate an alternative model for modern business.

However, pursuing a cooperative model is far from an easy task. There are several obstacles. On the one hand, membership is not cheap, as to join a cooperative, workers typically pay a one-off payment of around 17,000 euros each. Furthermore, just as they are entitled to a share of the profits, they are also responsible for any losses.