Coca Cola will lay off 17% of its workers worldwide

The pandemic affected Coca-Cola’s businesses, with sales plummeting in places like stadiums and cinemas. for the stoppage of activities and confinements. Their revenue fell 9% this year, to 8.700 million dollars in the period July-September.

Due to this lower economic activity, the company was forced to accelerate a restructuring that was already underway, says the AP agency.

“We have been challenging traditional ways of doing business and the pandemic helped us realize that we could be bolder in our efforts, ” said the president and Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey during an earnings video conference in October. Coka-Cola is cutting its brands in half. It shelved several brands for low sales this year like Tab, Zico coconut water, Diet Coke Fiesty Cherry and Odwalla juices.

The company said it will use its savings to invest in rising brands like Minute Maid and Simply, and will fund the launch of new products like Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Coca-Cola Energy and Aha sparkling water. The firm is also reducing its business segments from 17 to nine. He said the downsizing programs will cost between $ 350 million and $ 550 million.

The company began in August to compensate workers who requested their voluntary dismissal. Coca-Cola has refrained from revealing how many employees have accepted the proposal.

The layoffs will not affect Coca-Cola bottlers, they are mostly independent. If bottlers are included, the company employs more than 700,000 people globally.