The Workforce AI Index · Basic Materials
International Paper Company (IP)
Paper packaging maker, counted by country. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-27. Ranked 5 of the 5 Basic Materials companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing counts 62,602 employees with 30,421 in the United States and nothing by segment, so the split between converting and mills follows segment revenue (c).
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 14% now, 21% at the end of 2027, 24% at the end of 2028, 25% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 25% desk work, 9% people work and 66% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 75% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 20% becomes checking a model's work and 4% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
62,602 employees as of 2025-12-31 (stated). The filing counts nearly 30,421 of 62,602 employees in the United States.
The filing: “As of December 31, 2025, we have approximately 62,602 employees, nearly 30,421 of whom are in the United States.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Converted Paper Product Manufacturing | 60% | By revenue (c): North American and EMEA industrial packaging at 85% of segment revenue, the corrugated box converting facilities the filing names in its labor agreements, with no count by segment. |
| Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills | 40% | By revenue (c): the mills behind the packaging business and Global Cellulose Fibers at 15% of segment revenue, weighted up for mill staffing, with no stated count. |
What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 62,602 employees, up from 37,000 with the DS Smith combination; 30,421 in the United States, 20,705 of them hourly and 11,498 union-represented, 8,622 by the United Steelworkers; works councils and national unions across EMEA; actions the filing says reduced the workforce by approximately 1,400.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Converted Paper Product Manufacturing, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Smurfit Westrock plc (SW, 97,000 employees)14% now, 24% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
11 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI in 11 sentences, as risk: AI evolving rapidly with risks to its adoption, and uncertainty in the legal regime for AI.
- “An inability to foster these relationships and to manage any material changes in commercial terms and service levels could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or future prospects. 16 Table of Contents Pricing in the paper and packaging industries can be affected by, among other things, product commoditization, changes in demand, entranc...”
- “AI continues to evolve rapidly, and, as with many technological innovations, it presents risks and challenges that could affect its adoption and our business.”
- “Uncertainty in the global and legal regulatory regime relating to AI may require significant resources to modify and maintain business practices to comply with international laws, the nature of which cannot be determined at this time.”
- “Multiple jurisdictions, including Europe, the U.S. federal government, and certain U.S. states, have already proposed or enacted laws, regulations, and other requirements governing AI.”
- “In Europe, the EU AI Act, adopted in May 2024, entered its implementation phase in 2025 and imposes extensive transparency, risk management and data governance obligations for AI systems, particularly those classified as high risk, with significant fines for noncompliance.”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 62,602 | 2026-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2024-12-31 | 37,000 | 2025-02-21 | 10-K |
| 2023-12-31 | 39,000 | 2024-02-16 | 10-K |
| 2022-12-31 | 39,000 | 2023-02-17 | 10-K |
| 2021-12-31 | 38,200 | 2022-02-18 | 10-K |
| 2020-12-31 | 49,300 | 2021-02-19 | 10-K |
| 2019-12-31 | 51,000 | 2020-02-19 | 10-K |
| 2018-12-31 | 53,000 | 2019-02-20 | 10-K |
| 2017-12-31 | 56,000 | 2018-02-22 | 10-K |
| 2016-12-31 | 55,000 | 2017-02-22 | 10-K |
| 2015-12-31 | 56,000 | 2016-02-25 | 10-K |
| 2014-12-31 | 58,000 | 2015-02-26 | 10-K |
| 2013-12-31 | 69,000 | 2014-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2012-12-31 | 70,000 | 2013-02-26 | 10-K |
| 2011-12-31 | 61,500 | 2012-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2010-12-31 | 59,500 | 2011-02-25 | 10-K |
| 2009-12-31 | 56,100 | 2010-02-25 | 10-K |
| 2008-12-31 | 61,700 | 2009-02-26 | 10-K |
| 2007-12-31 | 51,500 | 2008-02-29 | 10-K |
| 2006-12-31 | 60,600 | 2007-02-28 | 10-K |
| 2005-12-31 | 68,700 | 2006-03-06 | 10-K |
| 2004-12-31 | 80,000 | 2005-03-10 | 10-K |
| 2003-12-31 | 83,000 | 2004-03-12 | 10-K |
| 2002-12-31 | 91,000 | 2003-02-28 | 10-K |
| 2001-12-31 | 100,000 | 2002-03-18 | 10-K405 |
| 2000-12-31 | 112,900 | 2001-03-26 | 10-K |
| 1999-12-31 | 99,000 | 2000-03-27 | 10-K405 |
| 1998-12-31 | 80,000 | 1999-03-31 | 10-K |
| 1997-12-31 | 82,000 | 1998-03-30 | 10-K |
| 1996-12-31 | 87,000 | 1997-03-28 | 10-K |
| 1995-12-31 | 81,500 | 1996-04-01 | 10-K405 |
| 1994-12-31 | 70,000 | 1995-03-31 | 10-K405 |
| 1993-12-31 | 72,500 | 1994-03-31 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- The filing counts people by country and status, not by segment; the split between converting plants and mills rests on segment revenue and description (c).
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000051434-26-000055, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of International Paper Company's working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 14% now and 24% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce International Paper Company's own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does International Paper Company employ?
- 62,602 as of December 31, 2025, as its annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025 states. About 49% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up International Paper Company's workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 2 industry staffing patterns, the largest Converted Paper Product Manufacturing; by those patterns the work is about 25% desk work, 9% people work and 66% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does International Paper Company's annual report say about AI?
- 11 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.