The Workforce AI Index · by sector
Consumer Defensive
16 of the 105 Consumer Defensive companies in the Index have been read so far, out of the US-listed companies with 1,000 or more employees listed on October 1, 2026. The ranking is partial until the rest are read. Each company is read from its own annual report: the headcount it states and its workforce as a blend of the industry staffing patterns on this site, with a one-sentence reason per share that anyone can check against the filing.
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. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
The ranking so far
By the share of working time within reach now, on the long-run pace at four in five. Estimates.
| # | Company | Employees | Within reach now | End of 2028 | Leading pattern |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | 55,000 | 26% | 35% | Health and Personal Care Retailers |
| 2 | Sysco Corporation | 75,000 | 22% | 32% | Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only) |
| 3 | Costco | 341,000 | 21% | 25% | General Merchandise Retailers |
| 4 | Dollar Tree | 153,032 | 21% | 25% | General Merchandise Retailers |
| 5 | Dollar General | 194,000 | 21% | 25% | General Merchandise Retailers |
| 6 | Target | 415,000 | 21% | 25% | General Merchandise Retailers |
| 7 | Walmart | 2,100,000 | 21% | 25% | General Merchandise Retailers |
| 8 | Albertsons | 280,000 | 20% | 23% | Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only) |
| 9 | Kroger | 403,000 | 19% | 23% | Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only) |
| 10 | Procter & Gamble | 104,000 | 17% | 34% | Chemical Manufacturing |
| 11 | Philip Morris International Inc. | 84,900 | 17% | 27% | Tobacco Manufacturing |
| 12 | PepsiCo | 306,000 | 16% | 26% | Other Food Manufacturing |
| 13 | The Coca-Cola Company | 65,900 | 14% | 24% | Beverage Manufacturing |
| 14 | Mondelez International, Inc. | 91,000 | 14% | 23% | Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing |
| 15 | Tyson Foods | 133,000 | 10% | 16% | Animal Slaughtering and Processing |
| 16 | Pilgrim's Pride Corporation | 63,000 | 9% | 13% | Animal Slaughtering and Processing |
Other sectors: Basic Materials, Communication Services, Consumer Cyclical, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials, Real Estate, Technology, Utilities. How a reading is made: the method.