Employee Ownership Companies Top Best 100 Places to Work List

At least 31 of the 100 companies named as the "Best 100 Companies in America to Work For" have at least 10% of their stock owned by employees. The number is probably higher than this, however, as some of the companies may have broad ownership plans that we have not identified. Topping the list was Southwest Airlines, which is about 13% employee owned through its profit sharing plan. Majority-employee owned TD Industries came in 5th, while W.L. Gore was seventh, Publix was 45th, and Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. was 65th. Non-majority employee ownership companies, with ownership implemented either through ESOPs, other employee benefit trusts, or through broad stock options included Microsoft (8), Hewlett-Packard (10), Moog (13), Procter & Gamble (19), PeopleSoft (20), Cisco (25), Intel (32), Whole Foods (34), CMP Media (40), Herman Miller (51), Great Plains Software (53), Adobe Systems (56), A.G. Edwards (57), Xerox (59), Hallmark (61), QuadGraphics (68), Sun Microsystems (69), Amgen (74), Lowes (80), Starbucks (81), H.B. Fuller (83), Motorola (90), Merrill Lynch (98), and Acipco (99).

The list is compiled by Robert Levering and Milton Moscowitz for Fortune magazine and appears in the January 12th issue. It is based on surveys sent to employees from a larger list of nominees the authors compiled. The 31% or more representation of employee ownership companies is far in excess of the percentage of the number total companies large enough to be on such a list. That statistic can only be roughly estimated, but is probably around 10%.