By Bryan Clapper, staff writer

AUSTIN &8212; Hormel Foods announced Tuesday morning that it will be giving stock options to all of its 18,000 full-time employees nationwide, including more than 1,600 who work in Austin.

It is a one-time award of 100 stock options to all full-time employees who were on the payroll as of Monday &8212; options they have 10 years to exercise. This is the first time the company has universally granted stock options.

The stock option award is the &8220;right&8221; to buy shares of Hormel Foods stock at the closing price of $37.41 per share, based on the closing price Monday. There is no obligation to exercise the option, and no risk of losing money.

Ettinger said the stock option award is a way to give all employees an incentive to help the company grow in value &8212; if company stock goes up, the value of their stock options also increase. It also will help the company foster a sense of community with employees at its recently acquired companies.

Night-shift employees were notified last night of the bonus, Ettinger said, and day-time employees were expected to learn of it today.

&8220;I certainly hope that it&8217;s received positively,&8221; Ettinger said. &8220;I think it&8217;s going to be exciting to have a benefit that&8217;s universal that everyone can share in.&8221;

Stock options at large companies are generally limited to middle and upper management.

&8220;I&8217;m not aware of (another) circumstance where a publicly traded Fortune 500 company provides a small number of stock options for every employee,&8221; said V. John Ella, a Minneapolis attorney who specializes in employment law and benefits. Ella called Hormel&8217;s move &8220;good for morale&8221; and an effective way to retain employees.

In November, the company distributed nearly $15.4 million in annual profit-sharing payments to hourly and salaried employees. Hormel reported net earnings of $286.1 million for the fiscal year ended Oct. 29, up 12 percent from fiscal 2005, while revenue rose 6 percent to $5.75 billion.

The company&8217;s stock price has been rising steadily for several years; it&8217;s up about 17 percent from a year ago and up 73 percent from January 2003.

&8212; The Associated Press contributed to this report.