“Jobs”, not just number of jobs, but also quality of jobs, has always been one of the most important drivers of an industrial economy. The 21st century already seems to be showing a different outlook on jobs and employment than the 20th century given the triple threat of older demographics, lower productivity growth, and the high promise / uncertainty of the role of automation over the coming decades.
As a rough and dirty reference, I decided to post a list of the top 70 listed company I’ve looked at when ranked by raw number of employees. Number of employees is a measure of a company’s size, but unlike market capitalisation or revenue, it is easier to compare a Chinese and American company by simply counting the number of human beings working at each rather than converting one company’s numbers to another currency.
An obvious problem with ranking companies by number of employees is that some companies are simply far more labor intensive than others: retailers, restaurants, and banks top this list which doesn’t even include far larger companies like Apple, Alphabet / Google, or Facebook (though Amazon did make this list). For those interested in automation, this list could be useful for seeing which companies are likely to be most affected by number and type of employees.
| Ticker | Name | Country | Sector | Employees | Currency | Market Cap |
| WMT | Wal-Mart Stores Inc. | United States | Mixed Retailing | 2,300,000 | USD | 238,280,000,000 |
| DE/XFRA/VOW | Volkswagen AG | Germany | Automobiles | 626,715 | EUR | 69,480,000,000 |
| UK/XLON/GFS | G4S PLC | United Kingdom | General Services | 592,897 | GBp | 5,040,000,000 |
| UK/XLON/CPG | Compass Group PLC | United Kingdom | Restaurants | 527,180 | GBp | 27,460,000,000 |
| PTR | PetroChina Co. Ltd. ADR | China | Major Oil & Gas | 508,757 | USD | 199,690,000,000 |
| HK/1288 | Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. ADR | China | Banking | 496,698 | USD | 165,300,000,000 |
| UK/XLON/TSCO | Tesco PLC | United Kingdom | Food Retail | 465,368 | GBp | 15,040,000,000 |
| HK/1398 | Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. ADR | China | Banking | 461,749 | USD | 265,550,000,000 |
| CHL | China Mobile Ltd. ADR | Hong Kong | Wireless Telecommunications Services | 460,647 | USD | 227,160,000,000 |
| DE/XFRA/GAZ | Gazprom PJSC ADR | Russian Federation | Major Oil & Gas | 456,000 | EUR | ? |
| SNP | China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. ADR | China | Major Oil & Gas | 451,611 | USD | 108,760,000,000 |
| KR | Kroger Co. | United States | Food Retail | 443,000 | USD | 27,180,000,000 |
| UPS | United Parcel Service Inc. Cl B | United States | Air Freight | 434,000 | USD | 92,060,000,000 |
| FR/XPAR/SW | Sodexo S.A. | France | Restaurants | 425,594 | EUR | 18,780,000,000 |
| IBM | International Business Machines Corp. | United States | Computer Services | 414,400 | USD | 143,400,000,000 |
| HD | Home Depot Inc. | United States | Home Goods Retail | 406,000 | USD | 183,530,000,000 |
| ACN | Accenture PLC Cl A | Ireland | Diversified Business Services | 384,000 | USD | 81,950,000,000 |
| MCD | McDonald’s Corp. | United States | Restaurants | 375,000 | USD | 122,990,000,000 |
| BRK.A | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A | United States | Reinsurance | 367,700 | USD | 408,150,000,000 |
| HK/XHKG/0939 | China Construction Bank Corp. ADR | China | Banking | 362,482 | USD | 207,650,000,000 |
| WBA | Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. | United States | Drug Retail | 360,000 | USD | 87,580,000,000 |
| DE/XFRA/SIE | Siemens AG | Germany | Diversified Holding Companies | 351,000 | EUR | 107,820,000,000 |
| AMZN | Amazon.com Inc. | United States | Mixed Retailing | 341,400 | USD | 475,400,000,000 |
| SE/XSTO/SECUB | Securitas AB Series B | Sweden | Diversified Business Services | 335,945 | SEK | 52,460,000,000 |
| DE/XFRA/SBNC | Sberbank Rossia ADR | Russian Federation | Banking | 325,075 | EUR | NULL |
| TGT | Target Corp. | United States | Mixed Retailing | 323,000 | USD | 30,430,000,000 |
| HK/2318 | Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. ADR | China | Full-Line Insurance | 318,588 | USD | 119,320,000,000 |
| HK/3988 | Bank of China Ltd. | China | Banking | 308,900 | USD | 157,110,000,000 |
| GE | General Electric Co. | United States | Diversified Holding Companies | 295,000 | USD | 238,440,000,000 |
| HK/0001 | CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. ADR | Hong Kong | Real Estate Developers | 290,000 | USD | 50,300,000,000 |
| LOW | Lowe’s Cos. | United States | Home Goods Retail | 290,000 | USD | 67,590,000,000 |
| CHA | China Telecom Corp. Ltd. ADR | China | Wired Telecommunications Services | 287,076 | USD | 40,190,000,000 |
| CHU | China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. ADR | Hong Kong | Wireless Telecommunications Services | 270,484 | USD | 34,360,000,000 |
| WFC | Wells Fargo & Co. | United States | Banking | 269,100 | USD | 255,560,000,000 |
| T | AT&T Inc. | United States | Wireless Telecommunications Services | 268,000 | USD | 236,880,000,000 |
| ARMK | Aramark | United States | Restaurants | 266,500 | USD | 9,100,000,000 |
| FMX | Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. ADR | Mexico | Non-Alcoholic Beverages/Drinks | 266,144 | USD | 20,390,000,000 |
| PEP | PepsiCo Inc. | United States | Non-Alcoholic Beverages/Drinks | 264,000 | USD | 166,950,000,000 |
| CTSH | Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. | United States | Computer Services | 260,200 | USD | 39,410,000,000 |
| HK/1186 | China Railway Construction Corp. Ltd. ADR | China | Construction | 259,460 | USD | 23,190,000,000 |
| SBUX | Starbucks Corp. | United States | Restaurants | 254,000 | USD | 92,110,000,000 |
| CVS | CVS Health Corp. | United States | Drug Retail | 250,000 | USD | 78,270,000,000 |
| JPM | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | United States | Major International Banks | 243,355 | USD | 291,860,000,000 |
| HCA | HCA Healthcare Inc. | United States | Healthcare Provision | 241,000 | USD | 30,050,000,000 |
| SG/XSES/C07 | Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. | Singapore | Specialty Retail | 240,000 | SGD | 17,400,000,000 |
| UK/XLON/HSBA | HSBC Holdings PLC (UK Reg) | United Kingdom | Major International Banks | 235,175 | GBp | 135,460,000,000 |
| TJX | TJX Cos. | United States | Clothing Retail | 235,000 | USD | 48,380,000,000 |
| IT/MTAA/FCA | Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. | United Kingdom | Automobiles | 234,499 | EUR | 19,010,000,000 |
| FCAU | Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. | United Kingdom | Automobiles | 234,499 | USD | 20,350,000,000 |
| RHI | Robert Half International Inc. | United States | Employment/Training Services | 231,400 | USD | 5,910,000,000 |
| UNH | UnitedHealth Group Inc. | United States | Life Insurance | 230,000 | USD | 168,810,000,000 |
| WMMVY | Wal-Mart de Mexico S.A.B. de C.V. ADR | Mexico | Mixed Retailing | 228,854 | USD | 39,900,000,000 |
| MAR | Marriott International Inc. | United States | Hotels | 226,500 | USD | 40,790,000,000 |
| GM | General Motors Co. | United States | Automobiles | 225,000 | USD | 51,200,000,000 |
| AU/XASX/WES | Wesfarmers Ltd. | Australia | Home Goods Retail | 220,000 | AUD | 46,910,000,000 |
| C | Citigroup Inc. | United States | Major International Banks | 219,000 | USD | 166,680,000,000 |
| DE/XFRA/DTE | Deutsche Telekom AG | Germany | Wireless Telecommunications Services | 218,341 | EUR | 80,820,000,000 |
| COST | Costco Wholesale Corp. | United States | Food Retail | 218,000 | USD | 79,150,000,000 |
| BAC | Bank of America Corp. | United States | Major International Banks | 208,000 | USD | 223,020,000,000 |
| AU/XASX/WOW | Woolworths Ltd. | Australia | Food Retail | 205,000 | AUD | 33,820,000,000 |
| UTX | United Technologies Corp. | United States | Aerospace Products/Parts | 202,000 | USD | 97,170,000,000 |
| F | Ford Motor Co. | United States | Automobiles | 201,000 | USD | 44,280,000,000 |
| FLEX | Flex Ltd. | Singapore | Industrial Electronics | 200,000 | USD | 9,150,000,000 |
| DIS | Walt Disney Co. | United States | Broadcasting | 195,000 | USD | 170,680,000,000 |
| CA/XTSE/L | Loblaw Cos. Ltd. | Canada | Food Retail | 195,000 | CAD | 30,670,000,000 |
| AMX | America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. ADR | Mexico | Wireless Telecommunications Services | 194,193 | USD | 52,680,000,000 |
| HK/1211 | BYD Co. Ltd. ADR | China | Automobiles | 193,842 | USD | 18,720,000,000 |
| FR/XPAR/BNP | BNP Paribas S.A. | France | Major International Banks | 192,419 | EUR | 78,550,000,000 |
| PUSH | Publix Super Markets Inc. | United States | Food Retail | 191,000 | USD | 15,470,000,000 |
| ES/XMCE/SAN | Banco Santander S.A. | Spain | Major International Banks | 188,492 | EUR | 84,430,000,000 |
Image Source: WikiCommons