It sounds like a nice move to give employees shares in one's company. But what is stopping employees from simply buying shares from their salary? Giving them a high enough salary so that they could buy any shares they want seems like a nicer move than promising them shares in one's own company.

Also, people who get angry about this are often beneficiaries themselves - the article mentions the pension funds who own most shares, but who will also later pay most people's pensions.