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Can you estimate the number of software developers at the following companies, Amazon, Macys, Albertsons, Home Depot, BestBuy?
Hello, thanks for your request on how many software developers are working at each of the following retailers: Amazon, Macys, Albertsons, Home Depot and BestBuy.
In short, here are the numbers of Software Developers globally for each company:
- Amazon: 2,380
- Macy's: 124
- Albertsons: 54
- Home Depot: 409
- BestBuy: 81
METHODOLOGY
I began my research by looking at each individual company's website, annual reports, press releases, SEC filings and any other official statements that might contain information about the number of employees or employee breakdowns. I also consulted other sources such as reports from third-parties and news articles. This initial search ended up with very little information, mostly employee breakdowns by region, store location or other diversity details.
Consequently, I leveraged on LinkedIn advanced search to count the number of Software Developers employed, then estimate a total number for the whole employee base including those who aren't on LinkedIn as well.
Please see details of my findings and calculations below.
AMAZON
As of end 2015 FY, Amazon employed about 230,800 people globally. Half a year later, the number rose to 268,900 employees which is the latest announcement from the company.
LinkedIn advanced search for people with "current" title of "Software Developer" currently working at Amazon resulted in 1,079 people. They represent about 1,079 / 121,889 = 0.9% of the Amazon employee base on LinkedIn.
Assuming this is true for the whole Amazon population not just on LinkedIn, we get an estimate of 268,900 x 0.9% = 2,380 Software Developers.
MACY'S
I couldn't find any recent employee information from Macy's. The latest figure was from the 2015 annual report cited several times in Macy's 2016 fact book and other quarterly reports. Accordingly, as of end 2015 Macy's employs about 157,900 people worldwide.
Applying the same extrapolation method as done in Amazon case, we get approximately 124 Software Developers.
ALBERTSONS
Estimation resulted in a total of 54 Software Developers.
HOME DEPOT
Home Depot maintains various independent LinkedIn pages for different branch companies such as Home Depot Canada/Mexico. Consequently, instead of using the number of Home Depot official LinkedIn page I conducted an X-ray search to get a more accurate result. I ended up with 97,031 people currently working at any Home Depot offices.
Estimation yielded a total of 409 Software Developers.
BEST BUY
The company operates 2 different LinkedIn pages: one for the US (global) and the other for Canada. Total number of Best Buy employees on LinkedIn: 52,094 + 3,130 = 55,224
Estimation resulted in a total of 81 Software Developers.
CONCLUSION
Comparing to Amazon figure, other companies' numbers seem rather small. I was unable to find any other complement sources to check their representativeness. As suggested, the difference can be attributable to the fact that Amazon operates primarily as an e-commerce business while others started from traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Hopefully this has answered your question. Please let us know if you need help with anything else! Thanks again for using Wonder!