The $36 billion food giant Danone is giving its factory workers 18 weeks of paid parental leave

• Danone North America is extending its parental leave policy to all employees, including manufacturing and factory workers.
• All workers who are new parents will receive 18 weeks.
• The company offers an additional 6 to 8 weeks of paid leave to birth parents, for a total of up to 26 weeks.
• Danone North America's CEO Shane Grant said the move will make employees feel more "empowered" and likely increase worker engagement and retention.

As of Tuesday, all Danone North America employees now have access to paid parental leave regardless of their gender, status as primary or secondary caregiver, or title within the company.

"Performance and purpose are connected and interdependent in business," Danone North America CEO Shane Grant tells Business Insider. "And if you really buy into that notion and you believe it fuels growth for business, then I think policies like this are a natural extension."

The food company's approximately 2,200 corporate employees already had paid parental leave. But now, Danone's 3,500 manufacturing workers also get access to the benefit. In the US, it's rare for hourly workers to get paid parental leave.

All workers who are new parents will receive 18 weeks at full pay. The company offers an additional 6 to 8 weeks of short term disability to birth parents, for a total of up to 26 weeks. The new benefit is the result of a commitment the company made in 2017 as part of the UN Women's HeForShe initiative to implement gender-neutral paid bonding leave.

We expect our people, because they're more engaged, to stay with us for longer and for our employee base to feel more strengthened.

Both union and non-union workers will receive the benefit, Grant said.

While paid maternity and paternity leave are universal in many European countries, no such guarantee exists in the US.

Over the last couple of years, a number of companies have been investing in paid parental leave policies. For example, in 2018, both Walmart and Starbucks announced they would offer paid parental leave to hourly employees. IBM, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan, also offer paid parental leave to hourly workers, per The New York Times.

However, the number of employees who get paid time off to care for a new child is still relatively low. In March 2018, just 17% of all civilian workers had access to paid family leave, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And less than 10% of US companies offer paid paternity leave to male employees, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.

Grant said the decision wasn't just the "right thing to do" but a smart move for the business. Employees that get access to benefits like paid leave are happier, stay longer, and are more productive, according to Indeed. Danone anticipates the new policy will have a positive impact on company retention, Grant added.

"We expect through this to have a more engaged, more fulfilled people base. We expect our people, because they're more engaged, to stay with us for longer and for our employee base to feel more strengthened," he said.

It also aligns with the company's mission to create an equitable and inclusive workplace.

"We deeply believe that can create a high return for us," he said.