PepsiCo is laying off workers at the headquarters of its North American snacks and beverages divisions, a signal that corporate belt-tightening is extending beyond tech and media, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Hundreds of jobs will be cut, the source said, and will primarily affect the company’s North America beverage business. Headquarters in Chicago, Plano and Texas will be affected.
According to the WSJ report, staff were sent out a memo that was viewed by the publication. The memo reportedly said that PepsiCo told employees that the layoffs were intended “to simplify the organisation so we can operate more efficiently”.
The cuts will be heavier in the beverage business because the snacks unit already has trimmed positions with a voluntary retirement programme, the people told WSJ.
PepsiCo, which is the parent brand behind Doritos, Lays potato chips and Quaker Oats, along with its cola drink, employed about 309,000 people globally, including about 129,000 people in the US.
However, due to the demand for food and beverages sold in grocery stores being high, “PepsiCo and other food companies have been raising prices to offset higher costs for ingredients, transport and labor,” WSJ said.
PepsiCo joins other companies, including Walmart Inc. and Ford Motor Co., that have been trimming white-collar workers even as they hold on to front-line staff. Meanwhile, an advertising slowdown has pushed many tech and media companies into layoff mode, the report said.
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