The Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories came in at No. 20 in Forbes Magazine’s 2017 ranking of the best employers in the United States.
Forbes compiled its list based on surveys of 30,000 American workers who were asked how likely they were to recommend their employer to others. “Those results were the most important factor in determining a company’s ranking on this list,” the magazine said. The list of the United States’ 500 best large employers – those with at least 5,000 workers – was published in the magazine’s May 16 issue.
Costco Wholesale took the No. 1 spot, followed by Google and REI. Sandia was sandwiched between Genentech and SAS; it was also the top aerospace and defense entity on the list.
“Congratulations & thanks, as always, for your extraordinary service in protecting our great nation! Everyone in NNSA is very proud of you!” Frank Klotz, head of DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees Sandia, said Friday on Twitter.
The Sandia National Laboratories has more than 10,000 employees in several locations – primarily in Albuquerque, N.M. – and operates on an annual budget of nearly $3 billion for its core mission of research and development to ensure the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
A Honeywell subsidiary this month took over as the laboratory’s management and operations contractor, ending Lockheed Martin’s tenure at the site.
The Department of Energy ranked at No. 273 among top employers, 46 spots behind the State Department and nine ahead of the Department of Defense.
