Glendale-based DreamWorks named one of best companies to work for

January 20, 2012

Fortune has come out with its list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For," and California-based firms claim six out of the top 20 spots, including No. 1, Google.

Notably, one of the reasons Google made it into the top spot was because "everything was up at Google last year," including revenue, profits and hiring, the magazine said. Still, revenue reportedly was lower than expected in the fourth quarter, and on Thursday Google's stock fell nearly 60 points in after-hours trading.

According to the magazine's ranking, employees are thrilled with the company and its perks, including bocce courts and a bowling alley in the New York office.

NetApp, in Sunnyvale, Calif., ranked sixth, due in part to huge bonuses for workers under the data storage firm's pay-for-performance program. For DPR Construction, in Redwood City, it isn't extra cash but extra caring that apparently makes workers happy there. According to Fortune, employees "feel listened to."

DreamWorks Animation, in Glendale, ranked 14th, and it's because Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg makes himself available to staff and personally welcomes new hires, the magazine said. Some of those hires could very well be from USC, where he is a beloved figure after a gift last year to help finance and equip the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Center for Animation.

At the dedication of the animation center in June, Katzenberg told a faculty member: "Just keep sending me magicians" -- in other words, new hires to welcome.

-- Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times

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