Beverage giant Coca-Cola has confirmed that it will be cutting around 1,200 corporate jobs as it continues its efforts to save money and slim its workforce.
The layoffs – which are expected to start later this year – will mean the company is cutting its corporate staff by about 22 per cent and its global workforce by about one per cent.
“While these changes are difficult, they will allow us to do fewer things more effectively,” said president James Quincey, who is set to take over as CEO on May 1.
The move comes following a significant sales dip in the first quarter of 2017, sparked by changing consumer tastes and an organizational shake-up. While Coca-Cola’s revenue declined 11 per cent in first quarter, profit took an even bigger hit, dropping 21 per cent from $10.3 billion to $9.1 billion.
Quincey said the planned cuts will be part of the company’s efforts to boost savings by about $800 million through redundancies, reduced marketing spending, and restructuring of operations.
If achieved, the $800 million savings will be in addition to $3 billion the company previously said it is trimming – however, senior figures have said most of the savings won’t be felt until 2018 and 2019.
Mass redundancies aren’t unheard of at Coca-Cola and in 2015 the company cut 1,800 jobs, 500 of which were based at its Atlanta headquarters.
Currently, Coca-Cola has 100,300 employees worldwide, including 57,300 in North America.
Source: hrmonline.ca
