When people ask which companies have the most employees, the answer depends on more than one headline number. Large employers report headcount on different fiscal calendars and may use different definitions for employees, associates, trainees, joint-venture staff, or other workers. Using company filings, annual reports, investor disclosures, and dated Fortune data, the list below compares ten major employers using the most relevant 2024 or 2025 headcount figures available for each.
The pattern is striking. Retail, ecommerce, utilities, manufacturing, professional services, postal networks, automotive groups, IT services, and logistics all appear because each business model needs scale in a different way. Walmart and Amazon rely on enormous retail and fulfilment networks, while BYD and Volkswagen show how manufacturing depth can translate into hundreds of thousands of employees.
Methodology: How This 2025 Employer Ranking Works
This is a sourced 2025 reference ranking of ten large employers, ordered by the headcount figures used here. It is not a synchronized census of every employer worldwide because companies do not all report on the same date or with the same workforce definition. Where a dated filing or 2025 ranking provides a clearer reference point than an undated profile, the dated figure is used. Franchise workers and independent contractors are excluded unless the cited organization explicitly includes them.
It is also important not to confuse workforce size with revenue rank. Fortune’s Global 500, for example, ranks companies by revenue, while this article compares employee counts. Readers looking at revenue-based corporate rankings can also see Brand Vision’s guide to Canadian company rankings.
1. Walmart: About 2.1 Million Associates
Walmart reported approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide as of January 31, 2025, including about 1.6 million in the United States. That scale supports stores, ecommerce, fulfilment, merchandising, and one of the world’s largest retail supply chains. Among private-sector companies with the most employees, Walmart remains a defining example of how physical distribution and digital commerce can operate together at enormous scale. Walmart Inc.
2. Amazon: Approximately 1.556 Million Employees
Amazon reported approximately 1,556,000 full-time and part-time employees as of December 31, 2024. Its filing separately notes that the company also uses independent contractors and temporary personnel, so those workers are not part of this employee figure. The scale reflects Amazon’s reach across ecommerce, logistics, cloud computing, devices, advertising, and other services. SEC
3. State Grid Corporation of China: About 1.354 Million in 2025 Fortune Data
State Grid is one of the world’s largest utilities. Fortune’s 2025 Global 500 data lists 1,354,310 employees, while the World Economic Forum’s organization profile describes a larger 1.72 million workforce and a service footprint reaching 1.1 billion people across 26 provincial-level regions. Because the WEF profile does not provide the same reporting date, this ranking uses Fortune’s dated 2025 employee figure while retaining the World Economic Forum profile as useful organizational context. Fortune Global 500
4. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC): 985,155 Employees
CNPC, the parent of PetroChina, is listed with 985,155 employees in Fortune’s 2025 company data. The workforce reflects the scale of an integrated energy business spanning exploration, production, refining, pipelines, engineering, and oilfield services. That operating breadth makes CNPC one of the largest state-linked industrial employers in this group. Fortune
5. BYD Company: 968,872 Employees
BYD’s 2024 annual disclosures report 968,872 employees at year-end. The figure illustrates how quickly the company expanded the workforce behind electric vehicles, batteries, electronics, engineering, and vertically integrated manufacturing. BYD is a useful example of how a rapidly scaling industrial platform can approach the employment footprint of much older global corporations. HKEX News+1
6. Accenture: Approximately 774,000 Employees
Accenture reported approximately 774,000 employees as of August 31, 2024. Unlike retail or manufacturing employers, its scale comes from a global professional-services model covering strategy, consulting, technology, and operations. The company serves clients in more than 120 countries, making its headcount especially notable among knowledge-intensive service businesses. Accenture
7. China Post Group: 723,227 Employees
Fortune’s 2025 data lists China Post Group with 723,227 employees. Its workforce supports postal services, express delivery, logistics, banking, insurance, and other financial services across a vast national network. That mix explains why large public-service organizations can sit alongside retailers and manufacturers when companies with the most employees are compared. Fortune
8. Volkswagen Group: 679,472 in Total Workforce
Volkswagen reported a total workforce of 679,472 people as of December 31, 2024 when equity-accounted companies in China are included. Excluding those Chinese joint ventures, the group reported 614,082 employees. The distinction matters because workforce definitions can materially change a ranking, and Volkswagen is one of the clearest examples of why the reporting basis needs to be stated rather than reduced to a single unexplained number. Volkswagen Group Annual Report 2024+1
9. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): 607,979 Employees
TCS ended fiscal 2025 with 607,979 employees and reported a workforce spanning 152 nationalities. That makes the company one of the largest employers in global IT services. Its scale reflects the labour intensity of enterprise technology delivery, consulting, managed services, and long-running client relationships across large organizations. TCS
10. DHL Group: 591,172 Employees in Its 2025 Half-Year Reporting
DHL Group reported 591,172 employees at the end of the relevant 2025 reporting quarter, including trainees. The group’s parcel, express, freight, supply-chain, and ecommerce operations make logistics one of the most people-intensive parts of global commerce. DHL’s headcount also shows why the reporting date matters: a mid-year figure can differ from a prior year-end total. DHL Group
What the Largest Employers Have in Common
The companies in this ranking operate in very different sectors, but their workforces point to a common operational reality: scale requires coordination. Retailers need stores and fulfilment networks, manufacturers need production and engineering capacity, service companies need large specialist teams, and logistics businesses need people distributed across complex physical networks.
For business readers, workforce scale is also a reminder that enterprise buying is rarely a one-person decision. Companies marketing to large B2B organizations often need to communicate across procurement, operations, finance, technical teams, and executive stakeholders. At the same time, employers at this scale rely on internal platforms and custom software development to coordinate workflows, while ERP software can connect finance, procurement, inventory, and other operating functions.
Headcount rankings will continue to move as companies automate work, expand into new markets, restructure operations, and change what they report. The most useful comparison is therefore not just who has the biggest number, but what that number includes and the date to which it applies.
FAQ
Which company has the most employees in this 2025 ranking?
Walmart is first in this ranking with approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide as of January 31, 2025. Amazon follows with approximately 1.556 million employees as of December 31, 2024.
Why does State Grid have different employee figures across sources?
Workforce figures can differ because sources use different reporting dates and definitions. Fortune’s 2025 Global 500 data lists 1,354,310 employees for State Grid, while the World Economic Forum profile lists 1.72 million without an equivalent dated reporting basis. This article uses the dated Fortune figure for ranking order.
Are contractors and franchise workers included?
Not by default. The article uses the workforce definition reported by each organization or source. Amazon, for example, explicitly separates independent contractors and temporary personnel from its employee count. Other companies may define their workforce differently, which is why the methodology matters.
What dates do these employee counts reflect?
Most figures are from fiscal-year 2024 or fiscal-year 2025 disclosures, with DHL using a 2025 half-year reporting figure. Each company section identifies the relevant date or reporting period where it is available.
Why include state-owned companies?
The article compares companies with very large reported workforces regardless of ownership model. State-owned enterprises such as State Grid, CNPC, and China Post operate at a scale that makes them relevant to a global employer comparison.
Where can the employee numbers be verified?
The figures are tied to company annual reports, regulatory filings, investor reporting, or established rankings such as the Fortune Global 500. The links throughout the article point to those underlying sources.
Sources
- Walmart FY2025 Annual Report / Proxy (global associates). Walmart Inc.
- State Grid - World Economic Forum organization page (organization profile and employee figure). World Economic Forum
- Amazon Form 10-K (filed 2025-02-06), Item 1 (employees). SEC
- CNPC - Fortune Global 500 company profile 2025 (employees). Fortune
- BYD - HKEX filing, 2024 Annual Report / ESG (employees at 12/31/24). HKEX News+1
- Accenture Form 10-K FY2024 (employees at 8/31/24). Accenture
- China Post Group - Fortune Global 500 profile 2025 (employees). Fortune
- Volkswagen Group Annual Report 2024 (total workforce; consolidated headcount). Volkswagen Group Annual Report 2024+1
- TCS FY2025 Results Press Release (headcount). TCS
- DHL Group Half-Year Report 2025 “Key Figures” (employees).
