Arauco and CMPC consolidate as leaders in attracting and retaining talent in the forestry sector

The forestry companies Arauco, in first place, and Compañía Manufacturera de Papeles y Cartones (CMPC), in second, consolidated as the sector's companies with the greatest capacity to attract and retain talent in Chile. This was revealed by the 13th edition of Merco Talento 2026, a measurement that recognizes the 200 leading organizations in the country in this area and considers the perception of different audiences linked to the labor market.

The result reaffirms the position of both companies within an industry facing significant challenges, both due to market conditions and the transformation processes underway in the forestry sector. For Arauco, first place represents recognition of the work carried out in people management, while CMPC maintained the second sectoral position achieved in the previous edition.

From Arauco, the People and Communications manager, Nicolás Jobet, especially valued the result. "This recognition from Merco Talento, which places us in first place in the forestry sector, fills us with pride because it reflects work we have been developing consistently to put people at the center of our management," he stated.

The executive added that the company seeks to create spaces where its workers can develop professionally and contribute from their abilities. "We want Arauco to be a place where people can develop, contribute from their abilities, and find opportunities to grow. This result confirms that we are on the right path and, at the same time, challenges us to keep moving forward," he affirmed.

In the case of CMPC, the company highlighted that it managed to maintain the second sectoral place in a particularly complex year for the Chilean forestry industry. From the company, they indicated that this result should be analyzed considering the context the sector currently faces and valued that the company retains a prominent position in the ranking.

"In a particularly challenging year for the forestry industry in Chile, we value maintaining the second sectoral place in Merco Talento 2026, keeping the same position achieved last year," they indicated from CMPC to Diario Concepción. The company added that the result "reaffirms CMPC's strength, its long-term vision, and its ability to sustain a prominent position, even in periods of greater complexity for the industry."

Universidad de Concepción also stands out

The Merco Talento measurement also delivered a relevant result for the Biobío Region. Universidad de Concepción (UdeC) ranked eighth nationally within the Higher Education sector, becoming the best-positioned regional institution in this category.

The result places the Concepción-based institution among the higher education organizations with the greatest capacity to attract and retain talent in the country, also reinforcing its regional and national positioning as an institution linked to training, research, and innovation.

Codelco leads the national ranking

Overall, Codelco, LATAM, and Banco de Chile again occupied the top three places in the Merco Ranking, maintaining leadership positions for the third consecutive year.

The national Top 10 was completed by Mercado Libre, which advanced from fifth to fourth place; BHP, which recorded one of the largest rises among the top ten companies by moving from position 14 to fifth; BCI, in sixth place; Nestlé, seventh; Cencosud, eighth; CCU, ninth; and Entel, tenth.

The composition of the top places also reflects the growing importance of sectors such as banking, mining, technology, and retail in the competition to attract professionals and workers.

Within the first 100 positions, Banking and financial institutions concentrated the largest representation, with 10 companies, followed by Energy and distribution, with nine; Food and Technology, with eight each; Retail, with seven; and Mining and Higher Education, with six organizations each.

Significant movements in the ranking

The 2026 edition also recorded significant advances by various companies. Falabella rose 19 positions and reached place 21, while Google advanced 13 spots to rank 28.

Among higher education institutions, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez made a significant leap of 27 positions, reaching place 31. Also notable were Consorcio, which advanced 52 places to position 39; Claro, which rose 39 positions to reach place 41; and Iansa, which climbed 47 spots to rank 45.

These movements reflect increasingly dynamic competition for talent, where factors such as reputation, development opportunities, working conditions, and organizations' ability to create spaces for growth acquire growing importance.

Different perceptions depending on the audience

One of the elements that characterizes Merco Talento is that an organization's attractiveness can vary depending on the group consulted. In this edition, Banco Itaú obtained first place among its own workers, while Mercado Libre led the evaluation carried out by workers in its sector and Human Resources experts.

LATAM led the preferences of workers from large companies, while Codelco was the first option among job seekers, university students, business school graduates, and unions.

Meanwhile, Colún led the preferences of professors and the general population. In the digital sphere, Antofagasta Minerals achieved first place, followed by Universidad de Chile, Mercado Libre, Banco de Chile, and Codelco.

Regarding the best Human Resources teams, Mercado Libre again took first place for the second consecutive year. They were followed by BCI, BHP, LATAM, and Walmart.

A measurement centered on people

Merco Talento 2026 was built from 51,532 surveys, considering six perspectives and 12 sources of information. Among them are workers, job seekers, university students, business school graduates, Human Resources experts, unions, academics, and the general public.

The evaluation also incorporates companies' management indicators and monitoring of conversations on social networks, seeking to obtain a broad view of organizations' ability to attract, develop, and retain their workers.

In the case of workers, the measurement considers 24 variables grouped into three major dimensions: job quality, employer brand, and internal reputation. Among the factors analyzed are compensation and benefits, stability, professional development, work-life balance, work environment, innovation, diversity and inclusion, reputation, and pride of belonging.

The results of this edition again position Arauco and CMPC as benchmarks of the Chilean forestry sector in terms of talent, in a scenario where the ability to attract and retain people becomes a strategic factor to face the challenges of an industry in constant evolution.