Government Companies Show Huge Salary Gaps and Record Profits in 2025 Report

The 2025 annual report from the Israeli Government Companies Authority reveals significant income disparities and record financial results across state-owned enterprises. Rafael leads in executive pay, with senior employees earning an average gross monthly salary of 85,170 shekels, while average workers at the Community Centers Company earn just 5,168 shekels. The Ports Company of Israel (PCI) tops the list for average employee salary costs at about 47,624 shekels per month, closely followed by Rafael with 47,407 shekels, despite Rafael having a much larger workforce.

Among senior management, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) pay the highest average gross salaries, 85,170 and 81,687 shekels respectively. These two companies, along with the Israel Electric Corporation, also employ the largest number of senior executives. At the lower end, service companies like the Community Centers Company and Amidar show much lower average salaries, with the former at 5,168 shekels gross monthly.

The report highlights extensive nepotism, with 38% of employees at Mekorot, 27.7% at Ashdod Port, and 24% at Rafael being relatives of other employees. Gender representation remains low in senior roles, with only 17% female executives at Ashdod Port and IAI, and Arab representation across companies between 1% and 3%. Notably, Netivei Ayalon stands out with 48% women in senior management and a female CEO.

Financially, total wage costs in government companies rose by about 19% in 2025, paralleling an 11% increase in revenues to 113 billion shekels. Rafael’s revenues surged by 3.8 billion shekels, with operating profit jumping from 934 million to 1.52 billion shekels, and net profit rising to 1.35 billion. IAI saw similar growth, with net profit reaching 2.46 billion shekels. These strong results pave the way for planned stock market listings, with IAI valued around 100 billion shekels and Rafael between 60 and 70 billion.

The report also notes a stalled sale of the shipping company ZIM to German firm Hapag-Lloyd, complicated by national security concerns due to significant Saudi and Qatari ownership in the buyer. Overall, government companies’ net profit reached 9.8 billion shekels in 2025, a 28% increase from the previous year, but dividends paid to the state totaled only 1.61 billion shekels. The report underscores ongoing tensions between regulatory demands for transparency and the defense companies’ requests for confidentiality.