"People" is in origin a noun referring to a population group (like "pueblo" in Spanish which has the same origin) and is singular, with its own plural form: "peoples". E.g. the peoples of the world, indigenous peoples, People's Republic of China.
However, due to similarities in meaning, it has come to be (more commonly) used as the plural for the unrelated word "person" (which also has the plural form "persons", now largely restricted to technical and formal use). In this sense it is logically treated as plural.
Therefore, "people" can be singular or plural depending on the context, but in most everyday circumstances, including your example, it is plural.