For the second-straight year, Intel Israel has been rated the best hi-tech company in the country to work for, Business Data Israel Coface Ltd. said Wednesday in its annual report.

Intel Israel, which employs more than 8,000 workers, displays its wares at a hi-tech exhibition.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

It was followed by Hewlett Packard Israel, IBM Israel, Google Israel and Motorola.

"During the second half of 2009, the hi-tech sector is undergoing a recovery as far as hiring of new employees is concerned," Tehilla Yanai, BDI's co-CEO, said in the report. "But at the same time, salary levels have remained steady and have not returned to the levels seen before the crisis. Companies that cut salaries at the outbreak of crisis broke have not yet raised salaries back to their previous levels."

The BDI survey was conducted among more than 12,000 workers in hi-tech companies throughout the country.

Despite layoffs and an average pay cut of 7.5 percent per worker, hi-tech employees were satisfied at their workplace, the report said.

Hi-tech employees prefer to work for multinational companies instead of start-ups, and they tend to prefer established companies offering job stability - parameters that did not characterize the industry before the economic crisis, the report said.

During 2008, many hi-tech companies reduced their activities in an effort to cope with the economic crisis by cutting thousands of jobs. They also reduced or cut workers' benefits such as holiday vouchers, car leasing and child-education expenditures.

Hi-tech workers again rated Intel, with more than 8,000 employees, as number one. Intel is not only the best hi-tech employer to work for, it is the best company in Israel, according to BDI's general survey in May.

HP Israel advanced the most among the top-10 companies, jumping to No. 2 from No. 8 in the 2008 survey.

IBM Israel maintained its No. 3 ranking from last year. Google Israel dropped from No. 2 to No. 4, while Motorola Israel jumped from No 9 to No. 5.

Other companies in the top 10 were No. 6 SAP Israel, down from No. 7; No. 7 Microsoft Israel Ltd., down from No 4; No. 8 Elbit Systems, up from No. 13; and No. 9 Amdocs, up from No. 10.

RAD Data Communications advanced 10 spots to No. 10, surpassing Cisco Systems and Comverse Technology, which both dropped 10 places to No. 16 and No. 17 respectively.

The sharp dive in Comverse's ranking was mainly due to the four waves of layoffs the company executed over the course of the past year, the report said.

Taldor Group rose 15 places to No. 18, while Audiocodes dropped to No. 40 from No. 27.