PepsiCo plans to cut close 1,000 workers in North America

PepsiCo plans to cut about 1,000 jobs across its North American food and beverage operations as the company looks to streamline its business and improve performance amid weaker demand and rising costs, according to reports. The planned layoffs, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, come after PepsiCo lowered its full-year 2026 earnings outlook in October, citing challenges in its North American business, including weaker beverage sales volumes, pressure on snack demand and higher costs.The reductions are expected to take place over the next week, according to an internal letter from PepsiCo North America CEO Ram Krishnan obtained by Reuters.In the letter, Krishnan said the changes are intended to simplify the company’s organizational structure, speed up decision-making, and help the company pursue growth opportunities.“The goal is to move faster, execute better, and invest behind the opportunities that will drive our growth,” Krishnan wrote, according to Reuters.PepsiCo, which makes Pepsi, Lay’s and Doritos, lowered its full-year 2026 core earnings per share growth forecast in October to between 2.5% and 3.5%, down from its previous expectation of growth at the low end of a 5% to 7% range.The company also reported a 2% decline in North American beverage sales volume during the third quarter, despite an approximately 5% increase in revenue for the segment.PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said in the company’s October earnings release that management remained focused on improving North American performance through additional investment in innovation, brand building and execution across sales channels.The job cuts also come as PepsiCo pursues broader productivity improvements following pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which acquired a stake valued at roughly $4 billion, according to Reuters.PepsiCo employed approximately 306,000 people worldwide as of Dec.27, 2025, including about 125,000 in the United States, according to its a...