Top 70 Listed Employers by Number of Employees

“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