Wegmans Food Markets Inc. ranked fifth, which marked its 16th consecutive appearance on the list, while Mars Inc. claimed 95th in its first appearance.
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In the February edition of FORTUNE magazine, Mars Inc. was listed as one of the top 100 best companies to work for in the U.S. Mars' national chocolate headquarters in based in Hackettstown.
Mars and Wegmans, both major employers in the region, were named in Fortune magazine’s February issue as two of the “100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States.”
Wegmans Food Markets Inc. ranked fifth, which marked its 16th consecutive appearance on the list, while Mars Inc. claimed 95th on its first appearance. The magazine hit newsstands Monday.
Fortune based the rankings on more than 277,000 surveys of employees at U.S. companies.
Mars spokesman Ryan Bowling said the McLean, Va.,-based Mars, whose national headquarters for the chocolate division is based in Hackettstown, said the opinions of the workers speak for themselves.
“We’re very honored and proud that our associates at Mars would consider Mars the best company to work for,” he said Tuesday.
Bowling said as a privately owned company that produces products ranging from pet food to chocolate to drinks, Mars offers employees security and room to grow.
“We have the freedom to look at the long term,” he said. “And so it provides a lot of great opportunities for our associates.”
From free candy to pet-friendly perks, the approximately 12,000 U.S. employees are offered a friendly work space, Fortune says. Workers at the pet-food division, which includes brands such as Pedigree and Whiskas, said they “can take their dogs to work, where they often sleep under desks,” according to Fortune.
Wegmans, which has locations in Lower Nazareth Township and Hanover Township, Northampton County, has appeared on the Fortune list every year since the list was first published in 1998.
“Our employees are the No. 1 reason our customers shop at Wegmans,” CEO Danny Wegman said in a statement. “I’m convinced there is only one path to great customer service, and that is through employees who feel they are cared about and empowered.”
Fortune noted that "turnover is an exceptionally low 3.6 percent" at the grocery chain.
Google came in at number one on the list, while other companies with stores located in the Lehigh Valley also making the top 100 include: Men's Wearhouse (50), Build-A-Bear (78), Starbucks (94) and Aeropostale (97).