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In this article, we will be taking a look at the 20 biggest companies in the world by the number of employees. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 biggest companies in the world by employees.
Most companies judge themselves, and are judged by the general public, based on their revenues, market cap, profits, dividends and returns to shareholders. Their biggest concerns are how to maximize returns by maximizing profits, or adapting to everchanging economic situations in a volatile decade, such as the pandemic or now the threat of a looming recession. In the search for higher revenues and lower costs, the latter of which has become even more important now that inflation is increasing and margins are decreasing due to rising costs, many companies often lose sight of what makes them tick in the first place; their employees.
The trends of employment have changed over time. In previous decades, many employees would stay at one company their entire life, and loyalty to the company was considered to be important as well. Now, job switching is all the rage and in fact, in many cases, a necessity to both increase your pay and climbing up the corporate ladder. There are tons of articles on every corporate website or magazine on whether switching jobs is good or not, and while it may come down to individual circumstances, companies no longer frown upon those switching jobs after every couple of years to further their career.
We are currently in the midst of record, or almost record inflation in most countries across the world, which has sparked fears that a recession is imminent. Interest rates have been increased to record levels while inflation has increased up to double digits in many developed countries, while hyperinflation is resulting in serious repercussions for many developing countries such as Sri Lanka, which defaulted on its debt for the first time in history, and other countries like Pakistan and Turkey are battling with inflation too. Even though the cost of living increase has been astronomical, the increments or wage increases given by most companies have not even come close to dampening the effect of inflation. This means, that in real terms, people are actually earning less than they were in previous year. In countries outside the United States, most currencies have depreciated significantly against the dollar as it reaches record highs, which has simply added to the cost of living. Most workers are angry that their companies are not adjusting their salaries in line with the increase in cost of living, which has led to strikes and demand of their rights.
Another interesting aspect of worker's rights has been the Great Resignation. The Great Resignation is an ongoing trend where employees are leaving their jobs en masse, in protest of working conditions and lack of benefits. Other reasons for mass quitting include wage stagnation and lack of career opportunities. During the pandemic, many businesses laid off their staff, with the United States alone accounting for 40 million unemployed people at one point in 2020, which meant nearly 25% of the total work force. Once business started picking up again as restrictions eased, the upper hand was with potential employees who knew that businesses were desperate for employees and so couldn't afford to bargain a lot. Because of this, many employees have left their current positions for better options.
But perhaps one of the biggest reasons for many employees quitting their jobs is the normalization of remote work. When the pandemic hit the world, most countries went into long-term lockdowns, which necessitated work from home for most employees, wherever possible. This led to people realizing the benefits of working from home, which included flexibility, better work life balance, less costs incurred as a result of saving on meals and on transportation, and having more free time as a result of not having to commute. Once the restrictions subsided, many companies immediately went on the offensive, requiring their employees to come to office, if not every day, then most days. For employees who had settled on working remotely, or at least mostly remote, this was simply unacceptable and many refused to return to their jobs, instead opting for jobs where they could continue to work remotely.
The biggest companies in the world by employees have to pay special attention to the relationship between a company and its employees, as for these companies, their employees are even more integral to their success. Most of the countries in our list belong to labor intensive industries such as retail or courier companies. Many of these companies have enough employees to fill a small city, and in fact in the case of one company, a city was established just for its employees. Ranking companies by the number of employees, with data taken from Fortune Global 500, let's take a look at the companies which altogether account for more than 14.5 million employees, starting with number 20:
20. The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)
Total number of employees in 2021: 420,000
Among the largest supermarkets in the world, The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) operates in 35 states in the United States. Operations of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) include hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores and even over a hundred jewelry stores. The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) is an exception in our list in the sense that most of its employees are represented by collective bargaining agreements, while many companies in our list are quite anti-union.
19. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China
Total number of employees in 2021: 434,089
Considered to be one of the biggest companies in the world by number of assets, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is a behemoth which is also considered to be among the most profitable companies in the world.
18. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)
Total number of employees in 2021: 450,000
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is a department store in the United States which is considered to be among the biggest retailers in the country. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has around 2,000 stores in the country. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) operates different kinds of stores, including hypermarkets, discount stores and 'small-format' stores.
17. China Mobile Communications
Total number of employees in 2021: 451,331
There are plenty of Chinese state-owned companies in our list of the biggest companies by employees and China Mobile Communications, engaging in the telecommunications sector, is no exception.
16. Agricultural Bank of China
Total number of employees in 2021: 455,174
One of the big four banks of China, the Agricultural Bank of China has more than 320 million retail customers and at least 2.7 million corporate clients across 27,000 branches.
15. Gazprom
Total number of employees in 2021: 468,000
Gazprom is a Russian state-owned energy company and is the biggest company in Russia by revenue. The company has been a part of sanctions from the United States after Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
14. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)
Total number of employees in 2021: 490,600
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is the biggest home improvement retailer in the United States. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) maintains a presence in not just all 50 states in the United States, but is also present in all 10 provinces of Canada and all 32 Mexican states. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) has more than 2,300 locations globally.
13. Jinneng Holding Group
Total number of employees in 2021: 506,364
Jinngeng Holding Group is the first in our list to cross half a million employees, and the company itself is a state-owned coal mining conglomerate.
12. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)
Total number of employees in 2021: 508,650
There are a couple of courier companies, including FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX), among the list of the biggest companies in the world by employees, which should come as no surprise considering how labor intensive running a courier company is. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) is surprisingly one of the top contractors of the U.S. government and also provides assistance in the transportation of some United States Postal Service packages, which is another company in our list. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) has close to 2,000 locations.
11. Sinopec Group
Total number of employees in 2021: 542,286
The world's largest oil refining, gas and petrochemical conglomerate, Sinopec Group is among the largest companies in the world by revenue as well.
10. Deutsche Post DHL Group
Total number of employees in 2021: 548,042
The German package delivery and courier company is easily among the biggest courier companies in the world, with revenues crossing 81.75 billion euros in 2021, and the return on equity being quite high at 27.7%.
9. U.S. Postal Service
Total number of employees in 2021: 584,902
The U.S. Postal Service is one of the few services which has been explicitly authorized by the U.S. Constitution. It can trace its roots back to 1775, and has a monopoly on letter delivery within the country. While you might think letters and mail are a relic of the past, having nearly 600,000 employees signifies that the traditional form of mail is going nowhere.
8. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)
Total number of employees in 2021: 624,000
Based in Dublin, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is an IT and consulting company which recorded revenues crossing $50 billion in 2021, with its clients including almost 75% of the companies making the Fortune Global 500 list. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) was founded after splitting from the infamous Arthur Anderson, which was considered to be among the "Big Five" accounting firms, but collapsed after the emergence of questionable and dubious practices for Enron and Worldcom.
7. Volkswagen
Total number of employees in 2021: 672,789
Most of the biggest companies by employees are also the largest companies in their industry, hence necessitating the need of such a large number of employees, and Volkswagen is no exception. Founded under the Nazi party, the company was so massive that the city of Wolfsburg was built as a planned city to accommodate workers from Volkswagen. The company owns some of the biggest and most famous brands in the automotive industry including Audi, Bugatti, Ducati, Bentley, Porsche and Lamborghini among others.
6. China Post Group
Total number of employees in 2021: 748,920
Postal companies of countries with high populations require a massive amount of labor, in what is a very labor intensive industry. China Post Group is a state-owned official postal service of China and provides domestic as well as international services for small parcels, large parcels and EMS. The company owns more than 373,000 branches, 230 mail processing centers and close to a hundred thousand transportation vehicles.
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Disclosure: None. 20 biggest companies in the world by employees is originally published at Insider Monkey.
