The Workforce AI Index · Industrials
Waste Management, Inc. (WM)
Waste services, counted by function. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-09. Ranked 21 of the 28 Industrials companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing counts 60,500 full-time employees, 53,600 in the U.S. and 8,400 in administrative and sales roles, so the waste patterns carry the operations workforce (a) split by 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: 16% now, 21% at the end of 2027, 22% at the end of 2028, 23% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 23% desk work, 10% people work and 67% 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 76% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 16% becomes checking a model's work and 7% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
60,500 employees as of 2025-12-31 (stated). The filing counts approximately 53,600 of 60,500 employees within the U.S.
The filing: “As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately 60,500 full-time employees across the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, and India. Approximately 53,600 employees were located within the U.S. and 6,900 employees were located outside of the U.S.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Waste Collection | 60% | By stated counts (a): about 52,100 employees in operations after the 8,400 in administrative and sales positions, with collection the largest part by revenue, commercial, residential, industrial and other collection at 61% (c). |
| Waste Treatment and Disposal | 30% | By revenue (c): landfill at 15% and transfer at 6% of revenue, plus the healthcare solutions business at 10%, the disposal and treatment side of its operations, with no stated count. |
| Remediation and Other Waste Management Services | 10% | By revenue (c): recycling processing and sales at 6% of revenue, the material recovery facilities the filing describes, with no stated count. |
What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 60,500 full-time employees, 53,600 in the U.S.; 8,400 in administrative and sales positions and the rest in operations as drivers, heavy equipment operators, technicians and sorters; approximately 9,200 under collective bargaining agreements; a total recordable incident rate of 3.14 in 2025.
What the filing says about AI
9 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI in 9 sentences, as risk and opportunity: the need to manage the benefits and risks of AI, and the competitive cost of failing to incorporate it.
- “Inability to adapt to and manage the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence could expose us to liability or put us at a disadvantage.”
- “The use of artificial intelligence may also result in litigation, ethical concerns, and other legal and business risks.”
- “If we are not able to adapt and effectively incorporate potential advantages of artificial intelligence in our business, it may negatively impact our ability to compete.”
- “If we are not able to effectively govern the use and manage the risks of artificial intelligence, we may suffer harm to our results of operations and reputation. 32 Table of Contents Significant cybersecurity incidents may negatively impact our business and our relationships with customers, vendors and employees and expose us to increased liability.”
- “Technological advancements, including the progression of the capabilities of artificial intelligence, also increase the risk, likelihood and precision of cyber incidents.”
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 | 60,500 | 2026-02-09 | 10-K |
| 2024-12-31 | 61,700 | 2025-02-19 | 10-K |
| 2023-12-31 | 48,000 | 2024-02-13 | 10-K |
| 2022-12-31 | 49,500 | 2023-02-07 | 10-K |
| 2021-12-31 | 48,500 | 2022-02-15 | 10-K |
| 2020-12-31 | 48,250 | 2021-02-22 | 10-K |
| 2019-12-31 | 44,900 | 2020-02-13 | 10-K |
| 2018-12-31 | 43,700 | 2019-02-14 | 10-K |
| 2017-12-31 | 42,300 | 2018-02-15 | 10-K |
| 2016-12-31 | 41,200 | 2017-02-16 | 10-K |
| 2015-12-31 | 40,600 | 2016-02-18 | 10-K |
| 2014-12-31 | 39,800 | 2015-02-17 | 10-K |
| 2013-12-31 | 42,700 | 2014-02-18 | 10-K |
| 2012-12-31 | 43,500 | 2013-02-14 | 10-K |
| 2011-12-31 | 44,300 | 2012-02-16 | 10-K |
| 2010-12-31 | 42,800 | 2011-02-17 | 10-K |
| 2009-12-31 | 43,400 | 2010-02-16 | 10-K |
| 2008-12-31 | 45,900 | 2009-02-17 | 10-K |
| 2007-12-31 | 47,400 | 2008-02-19 | 10-K |
| 2006-12-31 | 48,000 | 2007-02-15 | 10-K |
| 2005-12-31 | 50,000 | 2006-02-21 | 10-K |
| 2004-12-31 | 51,000 | 2005-02-17 | 10-K |
| 2003-12-31 | 51,700 | 2004-02-20 | 10-K |
| 2002-12-31 | 53,000 | 2003-02-24 | 10-K |
| 2001-12-31 | 57,000 | 2002-03-12 | 10-K |
| 2000-12-31 | 57,000 | 2001-03-13 | 10-K |
| 1999-12-31 | 75,000 | 2000-03-30 | 10-K |
| 1998-12-31 | 68,000 | 1999-03-31 | 10-K |
| 1997-12-31 | 17,700 | 1998-03-31 | 10-K |
| 1996-12-31 | 9,800 | 1997-03-31 | 10-K |
| 1995-12-31 | 2,500 | 1996-03-22 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- The filing counts operations against administrative and sales, not by line of business; the split inside operations rests on revenue by line (c).
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001104659-26-012049, 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 Waste Management, Inc.'s working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 16% now and 22% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Waste Management, Inc.'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 Waste Management, Inc. employ?
- 60,500 as of December 31, 2025, as its annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025 states. About 89% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up Waste Management, Inc.'s workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 3 industry staffing patterns, the largest Waste Collection; by those patterns the work is about 23% desk work, 10% people work and 67% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Waste Management, Inc.'s annual report say about AI?
- 9 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.