Top 10 Largest Employers in Germany

Key Takeaways

• Edeka (413,000), REWE (272,000), and Deutsche Bahn (214,000) are among the largest employers in Germany. This shows that retail and infrastructure anchor domestic employment.
• Volkswagen (293,300 in Germany) remains the largest employer considering worldwide numbers, but less than half of its global workforce is based in the country.

Companies with the Highest Employment in Germany

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Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

Retail and Infrastructure Anchor Employment in Germany

Retail and infrastructure dominate domestic employment among Germany’s largest companies.

Edeka, with 413,000 employees in Germany, ranks first in domestic employment. Unlike global manufacturers, its workforce is almost entirely concentrated inside the country.

REWE follows with 272,000 employees in Germany. Together, the two retail groups employ more people domestically than any single industrial firm.

Retail generates employment through scale and physical presence:

• Thousands of local stores
• Regional distribution centres
• Logistical coordination across cities and rural areas

These are labour-intensive systems rooted in the domestic economy.

Transport and logistics operators show similar patterns.

Deutsche Bahn employs around 214,000 people in Germany. Rail infrastructure, maintenance, and passenger services require permanent staffing. These functions cannot be relocated abroad.

Deutsche Post DHL employs approximately 187,000 people domestically. Although the group operates globally, nearly one-third of its workforce remains in Germany.

Infrastructure employment is structurally local. It depends on physical networks that operate within national borders.

Industrial Employers Are Larger Globally Than Domestically

Industrial manufacturers remain major employers in Germany, but a growing share of their workforce is located abroad.

Volkswagen employs around 293,300 people in Germany, which is roughly 45% of its total workforce. BMW employs about 93,700 domestically, or around 59% of its total staff. 

Leading Car Brands in Germany ->

This international distribution is also visible at Bosch, Siemens, and Schwarz Group. While each employs hundreds of thousands worldwide, only a minority of their workforce is based in Germany. For Siemens, roughly one-quarter of employees are domestic. Similarly, domestic employees at Bosch and Schwarz Group make up just around one-third of their worldwide staff.

Top Companies in Germany ->

Top Companies in Germany by LinkedIn ->

This reflects Germany’s export-oriented model. In 2024, exports account for roughly 42% of GDP, making the economy highly dependent on global markets [1]. Automotive and industrial firms, therefore, produce near major sales regions such as China and the United States.

Germany’s Top Export Partners ->

As production expands internationally, employment follows. Domestic jobs remain concentrated in engineering, research, and advanced manufacturing, while large-scale production networks are increasingly global.

Manufacturing remains significant, but it no longer dominates the domestic employment landscape as strongly as global rankings might suggest.

Germany’s labour market is supported not only by export-oriented industrial champions, but also by retail systems and infrastructure networks that operate largely within national borders.