How many employees work at Shire?
Shire Plc has approximately 7,717 total employees worldwide as of March 2026, according to Revelio Labs workforce intelligence data. Shire's total headcount has declined 4.8% from 8,103 employees in 2023 to 7,717 in 2026.
Data source: Revelio LabsCoverage: Global workforce, 2023–2026Published June 2026
Is Shire hiring right now?
Yes, Shire is actively hiring. Shire had 1,255 active job postings in 2026, a 8.5% decline from 2025 — see job openings & hiring trends.
About Shire's Workforce
Shire Plc is a Pharmaceuticals company that employs 7,717 people worldwide as of March 2026. It is the 11th-largest by headcount among its peers. Founded in 1986, the company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
Shire's workforce has declined 4.8% from 2023 to 2026, down 2.8% year over year in 2026. It fell to a low of 7,717 in 2026 Q1 before recovering. Its workforce is concentrated most in the United States (84.4%), followed by Austria (3.0%) and India (1.5%), with the United Kingdom, its fastest-growing location.
Shire's largest functional groups are Finance and Operations (46.4%), Engineering (39.8%), and Sales and Marketing (13.9%). Median employee tenure is 5.0 years. The average salary is $70,078, ranging from a median of $90,000 in Northern Europe to $10,000 in Southern Asia.
Shire's active job postings fell 8.5% in 2026 to 1,255, with new postings per month cooling from 1,200 in 2023 to 700 in 2026. Overall employee sentiment is negative and broadly stable.
Sourced from Revelio Labs workforce data.
As of March 2026
Shire
workforce metrics
Headcount
7.7k
2.8% YoY
Avg. Salary
$70.1k
0.6% YoY
Tenure
5.0yr
0.0yr YoY
Growth Rate
-2.8%
1.7pts YoY
Hiring Rate
Attrition Rate
Unlock hiring rate, attrition rate, and 12 additional workforce metrics for Shire. Compare to peers, export the dataset, and access the full quarterly history.
- Shire had 7,717 employees in 2026, a 2.8% decline (-218) from 2025.
- Shire had 7,782 employees in 2025, a 2.8% decline (-224) from 2024.
- Shire had 8,006 employees in 2024, a 1.2% decline (-95) from 2023.
- Shire had 8,101 employees in 2023, a 1.4% increase (+113) from 2022.
Shire's total workforce has declined from 8,103 employees in 2023 to 7,717 in 2026. Shire's headcount peaked at 8,185 in 2024.
Shire Plc — quarterly employee count (2023–2026)
| Year | Qtr | Employees | YoY Change | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Q1 | 7,717 | -218 | -2.8% |
| 2025 | Q4 | 7,782 | -224 | -2.8% |
| 2025 | Q3 | 7,869 | -316 | -3.9% |
| 2025 | Q2 | 7,910 | -147 | -1.8% |
| 2025 | Q1 | 7,935 | -89 | -1.1% |
| 2024 | Q4 | 8,006 | -95 | -1.2% |
| 2024 | Q3 | 8,185 | +28 | +0.3% |
| 2024 | Q2 | 8,057 | -46 | -0.6% |
| 2024 | Q1 | 8,024 | -35 | -0.4% |
| 2023 | Q4 | 8,101 | +113 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | Q3 | 8,157 | +232 | +2.9% |
| 2023 | Q2 | 8,103 | +197 | +2.5% |
Want to see Shire's complete headcount history back to 2017, including quarterly breakdowns?
The United States accounts for the largest share of Shire's global workforce with approximately 84% of total employees, followed by Austria and India. Shire's headcount in the United Kingdom is growing fastest among its major locations, up 3.1% year over year in 2026.
Shire employees by country — 2026
| Country | Employees | % of Total | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 6,489 | 84.4% | -1.8% |
| Austria | 232 | 3.0% | -0.3% |
| India | 114 | 1.5% | -0.8% |
| United Kingdom | 105 | 1.4% | +3.1% |
| Belgium | 75 | 1.0% | -0.2% |
| Switzerland | 53 | 0.7% | -1.5% |
| China | 50 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| Italy | 47 | 0.6% | -5.5% |
| Singapore | 40 | 0.5% | -4.8% |
| France | 29 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
Drill into city-level data, hiring trends by region and historic geographic shifts
Shire's largest employee groups are Finance and Operations (46.4%), Engineering (39.8%), and Sales and Marketing (13.9%).
Shire employees by department — 2026
| Department | Employees | % of Total | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance and Operations | 3,548 | 46.4% | -0.8% |
| Engineering | 3,044 | 39.8% | -2.9% |
| Sales and Marketing | 1,062 | 13.9% | -0.9% |
Compare Shire's department mix to industry peers.
Shire's average employee salary is $70,078 globally. Employees in Northern Europe receive the highest compensation, with median pay approximately 1.3x the global average. Pay is lowest in Southern Asia, at a median of $10,000.
Shire median employee salary by region — 2026 (USD)
| Region | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Northern Europe | $90,000 |
| Pacific Islands | $79,000 |
| Western Europe | $75,000 |
| Eastern Asia | $67,000 |
| South-Eastern Asia | $63,000 |
| Southern Europe | $57,000 |
| Northern America | $47,000 |
| Eastern Europe | $39,000 |
| Central and Western Asia | $35,000 |
| Central America and the Caribbean | $33,000 |
| Arab States | $25,000 |
| Southern America | $24,000 |
| Northern Africa | $15,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | $11,000 |
| Southern Asia | $10,000 |
Unlock salary by role, level, and city — and compare to Shire's industry peers.
- Shire had 1,255 active job postings in 2026, a 8.5% decline (-37) from 2025.
- Shire had 1,292 active job postings in 2025, a 0.6% increase (+8) from 2024.
- Shire had 1,284 active job postings in 2024, a 3.0% decline (-39) from 2023.
- Shire had 1,323 active job postings in 2023, a 47.0% decline from 2022.
- Hiring velocity in 2026: 700 new roles/month, up from 615 in 2025 and 708 in 2024. New metric
Shire's hiring is slowing: active job postings fell 8.5% in 2026 to 1,255, with new postings per month cooling from 1,200 in 2023 to 700 in 2026.
Track new postings per month, role-level demand, and hiring velocity vs. peers.
Revelio Labs tracks employee sentiment across Shire's workforce based on public professional data. Overall sentiment is negative and has held steady year over year in 2026.
Overall
Unlock the full sentiment breakdown by department, tenure, and trend over time.
Similar Pharmaceuticals Companies by Employee Count
- How fast is Shire growing?
- In 2026, Shire's headcount shrank 2.8% to 7,717 employees, down from 7,935 in 2025.
- Where are Shire employees located?
- Most Shire employees are based in the United States (84.4% of headcount), followed by Austria and India.
- What is the average salary at Shire?
- The average employee salary at Shire is approximately $70.1k per year.
- How many people does Shire hire per year?
- In 2026, Shire opened roughly 8,400 new roles — about 700 per month.
- When was Shire founded and where is it headquartered?
- Shire was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
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