The US Top 50, our annual listing of the 50 largest US groups in Belgium as measured by employment, directly employed 81,748 people (FTEs) in total in 2016, the latest year for which official data are available, according to new research carried out by AmCham Belgium.
US companies are important job creators in Belgium: the 900 majority-owned US groups active here directly employed more than 126,000 people in 2016. The US Top 50 companies alone employed 81,748 people in 2016, which accounts for 64% of total US employment in Belgium and highlights the importance of large multinational companies as a source of direct jobs – to say nothing of the ecosystems they create. These 50 companies contributed more than €1.68 billion to the Belgian State in taxes and social security in 2016.
After falling for a number of years, employment among the US Top 50 is now stabilizing. As the total number of jobs created by US companies in Belgium has held fairly steady over this time, the changes in the US Top 50 likely reflect mergers and acquisitions involving US companies.
US Top 50 Companies in Belgium - Ranked by Employees in 2016
1: Unconfirmed by company or partial confirmation
2: Information provided by company
3: The data was adapted to reflect the post 2015 changes in Gosselies, based on information provided by the company 4: Owned by a private equity firm. US employment may increase if other holdings are taken into account
Keep an eye open for the 2018 edition of the Business Barometer, a biennial study conducted jointly by AmCham Belgium and A.T. Kearney, surveying the international business community on their confidence in Belgium as business and investment location, which will be published on September 13, 2018!
