Short answer
Merck & Co. had approximately 75,000 employees worldwide on December 31, 2025, according to its Form 10-K filed February 24, 2026: about 30,000 in the US, including Puerto Rico, and 73,000 full-time. It also used about 15,000 third-party contractors, who aren't in the 75,000. The count was unchanged from a year earlier. Merck's 2026 quarterly reports don't give a newer figure. Merck KGaA, a separate German company, reported 62,461.
- Latest figure: about 75,000 employees on December 31, 2025, from the 2025 10-K, with about 30,000 in the US and Puerto Rico.
- Merck also counts about 15,000 third-party contractors on a full-time equivalent basis, reported separately.
- Headcount fell to 68,000 in 2021 after the Organon spin-off, then grew to 75,000 by 2024 and held there in 2025.
- A 2025 restructuring program will eliminate some sales, administrative and R&D positions and cost about $3.0 billion.
- Merck & Co. is known as MSD outside the US and Canada and is unrelated to Merck KGaA of Darmstadt.
On this page
This page is for sellers sizing Merck as an account, job seekers, analysts and anyone who needs a Merck headcount they can cite. It covers Merck & Co., Inc., the drugmaker based in Rahway, New Jersey, which is called MSD outside the US and Canada. Every figure comes from its annual report on Form 10-K or its quarterly report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC. Its fiscal year is the calendar year.
Merck employees by year
| Year | As of | Employees | In the US and Puerto Rico | Full-time | Third-party contractors | Change on prior year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | 75,000 | 30,000 | 73,000 | 15,000 | 0 | 10-K filed February 24, 2026 |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | 75,000 | 31,000 | 73,000 | 15,000 | +3,000 (+4.2%) | 10-K filed February 25, 2025 |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | 72,000 | 29,000 | 70,000 | 15,000 | +3,000 (+4.3%) | 10-K filed February 26, 2024 |
| 2022 | December 31, 2022 | 69,000 | 28,000 | 67,000 | 15,000 | +1,000 (+1.5%) | 10-K filed February 24, 2023 |
| 2021 | December 31, 2021 | 68,000 | 27,000 | 67,000 | 14,000 | -6,000 (-8.1%) | 10-K filed February 25, 2022 |
| 2020 | December 31, 2020 | 74,000 | 27,000 | 73,000 | 26,000 | +3,000 (+4.2%) | 10-K filed February 25, 2021 |
| 2019 | December 31, 2019 | 71,000 | 26,000 | not reported | not reported | +2,000 (+2.9%) | 10-K filed February 26, 2020 |
| 2018 | December 31, 2018 | 69,000 | 25,400 | not reported | not reported | 10-K filed February 27, 2019 |
Each 10-K gives the figures as "approximately"; the changes are our arithmetic. Merck reports headcount once a year. Its 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, filed August 7, 2026, doesn't give one, so the next figure is due with the 2026 10-K in early 2027.
What the number includes
- Employees, worldwide. The 2025 10-K says: "As of December 31, 2025, the Company had approximately 75,000 employees worldwide, including approximately 30,000 people in the U.S., including Puerto Rico, and approximately 15,000 third-party contractors globally." Read together with the earlier filings, the 15,000 contractors are in addition to the 75,000 employees.
- What a contractor is. "Third-party contractors include temporary workers, independent contractors, and freelancers who are considered full-time equivalent employees; outsourced service providers are excluded." Counting both groups, about 90,000 people work for Merck directly or as contractors (our arithmetic).
- Mostly full-time. About 73,000 of the 75,000 are full-time employees. About 21% of employees worldwide are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and voluntary turnover was about 4.8% in 2025.
- All segments. One figure covers the Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments. The 10-K doesn't split headcount between them.
Merck & Co. or Merck KGaA?
Two unrelated companies use the Merck name. Search results often mix them up.
| Merck & Co., Inc. | Merck KGaA | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Rahway, New Jersey | Darmstadt, Germany |
| Also known as | MSD, outside the US and Canada | Merck Group |
| Employees at December 31, 2025 | about 75,000 | 62,461 |
| Source | Form 10-K filed with the SEC | Annual Report 2025, note 31 |
Merck & Co.'s fact sheet says: "The company is known as Merck in the U.S. and Canada. Everywhere else, we're known as MSD." Merck KGaA's annual report says: "The number of employees was 62,461 as of December 31, 2025 (December 31, 2024: 62,557 employees)." A "more than 62,000 people" figure in a search result is almost certainly Merck KGaA.
What changed and why
- 2018 to 2020: growth to 74,000. Headcount rose 5,000 in two years.
- 2021: Organon. On June 2, 2021, Merck completed the spin-off of its women's health, biosimilars and established brands businesses into Organon & Co. Headcount fell 6,000, to 68,000, and the contractor count fell from 26,000 to 14,000.
- 2022 to 2024: rebuilding to 75,000. The count rose 7,000 in three years, alongside acquisitions such as Prometheus Biosciences in 2023.
- 2024: manufacturing. A January 2024 restructuring program aims to "continue the optimization of the Company's Human Health global manufacturing network as the future pipeline shifts to new modalities," with costs of about $4.0 billion through 2031.
- 2025: a new restructuring, flat headcount. In July 2025 Merck approved a program under which "the Company expects to eliminate certain positions in sales and administrative organizations, as well as research and development," while it "will, however, continue to hire employees into new roles across all strategic growth areas." It expects cumulative costs of about $3.0 billion, about 60% of it cash for employee separation and contract termination, and annual savings of about $1.7 billion by the end of 2027. Merck says the savings will be reinvested. Year-end headcount stayed at 75,000, while the US count fell 1,000.
- 2026 so far. The 10-Q records $490 million of costs under the 2025 program in the first half of 2026. Merck also closed its acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics, which is developing a long-acting flu antiviral, in January 2026, after acquiring Verona Pharma in 2025. The filings don't give a number of roles eliminated or added.
Revenue per employee
Merck's 2025 sales were $65,011 million. Divided by the year-end headcount, that's $65,011 million ÷ 75,000 = about $866,800 per employee (our calculation).
| Year | Sales | Employees | Sales per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $65.0 billion | 75,000 | about $866,800 |
| 2024 | $64.2 billion | 75,000 | about $855,600 |
| 2023 | $60.1 billion | 72,000 | about $834,900 |
| 2022 | $59.3 billion | 69,000 | about $859,200 |
Counting the 15,000 contractors as well gives about $722,300 per person for 2025. The Pharmaceutical segment produced $58.1 billion of 2025 sales and Animal Health $6.4 billion. US sales were $36.5 billion, 56% of the total, from 40% of employees. Sales in China fell from $5.5 billion in 2024 to $1.9 billion in 2025.
Selling to a company of Merck's size
General guidance on how a 75,000-person drug company buys, not a description of Merck's internal processes.
- Follow the reinvestment. The 2025 program cuts sales, administrative and some R&D roles but reinvests the savings in "strategic growth areas." Teams launching new products are more likely to be buying than teams being consolidated.
- Separate the two businesses. Human health and animal health have different customers, regulators and budgets.
- Plan for validation and compliance. Manufacturing, clinical and promotional systems need quality and regulatory review as well as security and procurement checks.
- Check the entity. Contracts outside the US and Canada are signed by MSD entities, and Merck KGaA is a different company entirely. Confirm the legal name before you send paperwork.
For a routine on an account this size, see enterprise account research. To compare another large US drugmaker, see Pfizer's headcount.
Next step: see Merck alongside its peers on our list of the largest pharmaceutical companies.
Sources
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 7 August 2026
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 24 February 2026
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 25 February 2025
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 26 February 2024
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 24 February 2023
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 25 February 2022
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 25 February 2021
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 26 February 2020
- Merck & Co., Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, Merck & Co., Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 27 February 2019
- Merck company fact sheet, Merck & Co., Inc., accessed 30 October 2026
- Merck KGaA Annual Report 2025, note 31: Number of employees, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many employees does Merck have in the US?
About 30,000 on December 31, 2025, including Puerto Rico, according to Merck & Co.'s 2025 10-K. That's 40% of its approximately 75,000 employees worldwide, and down from about 31,000 a year earlier. The other 45,000 work outside the US, mostly under the MSD name. Merck doesn't publish a count by state, though its headquarters is in Rahway, New Jersey.
Is Merck the same company as MSD?
Yes. Merck & Co., Inc. is known as Merck in the US and Canada and as MSD everywhere else, according to its company fact sheet. The 75,000 employees in its 10-K include MSD staff worldwide. It's not the same company as Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, which reported 62,461 employees at the end of 2025.
Does Merck's employee count include contractors?
No. Merck's 10-K reports about 75,000 employees and, separately, about 15,000 third-party contractors at December 31, 2025. The contractors are temporary workers, independent contractors and freelancers Merck considers full-time equivalents; outsourced service providers aren't counted at all. Together that's about 90,000 people working for Merck directly or as contractors (our arithmetic).
Is Merck laying off employees?
Merck's 2025 restructuring program, approved in July 2025, is expected to eliminate certain positions in sales, administration and research and development, while Merck keeps hiring into growth areas. It expects about $3.0 billion of costs, mostly employee separation and contract termination, and $1.7 billion of annual savings by the end of 2027. The filings don't give a number of jobs.
Why did Merck's employee count drop in 2021?
Because of the Organon spin-off. On June 2, 2021, Merck moved its women's health, biosimilars and established brands businesses into Organon & Co., a separate public company. Merck's headcount fell from about 74,000 at the end of 2020 to about 68,000 at the end of 2021, and its contractor count fell from about 26,000 to about 14,000.