The Coca-Cola Company (KO) has always had a knack for reinvention; that’s why it has maintained its position as the global market leader for 140 years.
In recent years, as consumer tastes shifted toward healthier, sugar-free beverages, the company pivoted into bottled water, energy drinks, juices, coffees, and even dairy products, which allowed it to retain its roughly 40% share of the global beverage market.
But being seen in all the right places has always been one of Coke’s strongest marketing moves. Its presence at the FIFA World Cup helped propel another strong quarter, as the company reported net revenues of $13.4 billion, a 7% year-over-year increase. With EPS of $0.97, Coca-Cola beat Wall Street estimates by 4% and raised its full-year outlook to 5%.
Yet Coca-Cola didn’t become the world’s largest beverage company on its own. Behind its constant reinvention is a global workforce responsible for turning its strategy into sales.
Here’s a look at Coca-Cola’s employees in 2026, where they work, and how recent layoffs have reshaped its workforce.
People have always powered Coca-Cola
Pharmacist John Pemberton formulated Coca-Cola in 1886: a fizzy, five-cent fountain drink made with coca-leaf extract, which at the time contained cocaine. After moderate success, he sold his company to Atlanta businessman Asa Candler in 1888, who transformed Coke from a medicinal tonic into a mass-market refreshment, enlisting independent bottlers to take the drink nationwide.
During World War II, the company fulfilled CEO Robert Woodruff’s promise “to see that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for five cents, wherever he is.” It built 60 overseas bottling plants, thus expanding its global footprint.
Coke’s advertising campaigns furthered its reach. McCann Erickson’s 1971 commercial jingle “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” featured hundreds of young people from around the world singing together on a hilltop, Coke bottles in hand. The jingle became so popular that radio stations began receiving requests to play it; it was re-recorded as a pop song and topped the charts, and drinking Coca-Cola became irresistible.
More than half a century later, that commercial remains one of the most famous in advertising history, but its message of uniting people continues to be a fundamental part of Coke’s core business.
Today, it takes tens of thousands of Coca-Cola employees — and hundreds of thousands more throughout its global bottling system — to give the world what it wants: the “real thing,” AKA Coca-Cola.
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How many employees does Coca-Cola have in 2026?
According to company filings, Coca-Cola had 65,900 direct employees as of December 31, 2025. But Coke’s total operations are actually much larger; including its bottling partners, approximately 700,000 people work to produce and deliver its beverages around the world.
In fact, thanks to Coca-Cola’s vast network of independent bottlers, its beverages are actually produced and distributed locally. While Coke produces the syrups using its top-secret recipes and sells or ships them to its bottling partners, they, in turn, mix, package, distribute, and sell the final products within their local markets.
What do Coca-Cola employees do?
Coca-Cola’s employees work in a variety of functions, including manufacturing, field sales, supply chain management, warehousing, product testing and development, and marketing and design. They also handle administrative, HR, legal, and accounting duties.
@eiitanbroude fr tho nothing makes my day like a crispy coke @Coca-Cola
Where are Coca-Cola’s employees located?
Coke’s main headquarters is in Atlanta, where the company was founded. It also has regional offices in Alpharetta, Georgia; Monmouth Junction, New Jersey; Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Phoenix, Arizona.
In addition, Coca-Cola maintains offices in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Has Coca-Cola had layoffs recently?
Yes. During the company’s October 2025 earnings call, then-CEO James Quincey signaled that workforce changes were coming. He told investors that as the company incorporated AI and agentic technology, it would undertake “some restructuring of the organization” in 2026.
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Then in January 2026, the company announced it would be laying off 75 employees, or approximately 2.5% of its Atlanta workforce, according to Fox5 Atlanta. The layoffs occurred in two phases and took effect by February 28, 2026.
In July 2026, Coca-Cola announced additional plans to shutter its Northampton, Massachusetts plant, eliminating 175 positions by December 15, 2026.
While the reductions affected just 250 positions, a relatively small percentage of Coca-Cola’s 65,900-person direct workforce, the move sparked criticism on platforms like Reddit.
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