Coca-Cola is to cut 1,200 corporate jobs – mainly at its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia – as part of a broad package of cost-saving measures.
It comes after the company reported flat first-quarter revenue growth, exacerbated by zero growth in North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, as well as contraction in its bottling operations. Net operating revenue stood at $9.12 billion, while gross profit for the quarter was $5.61 billion.
The job losses are part of a wider cost-cutting programme, designed to save the company $800 million by 2019.
It comes just a week before Coca-Cola’s incoming CEO, James Quincey, takes over from Muhtar Kent at the top of the drinks giant.
Quincey had previously overseen a major ‘streamlining’ of its international operations after becoming chief operating officer in 2016. And, last month, he announced a shake-up of Coca-Cola’s senior leadership team with a handful of changes – including the creation of a chief growth officer.
Discussing its latest update, outgoing CEO Muhtar Kent said: “The first quarter performance was in line with our plan, and we remain on track to deliver our underlying revenue and profit targets for the full year. As anticipated, revenues in the quarter were adversely impacted by two fewer days and the shift of the Easter holiday. Most importantly, we continue to execute against the long-term strategic transformation plan for the Company – a plan that I am confident will deliver even greater shareowner and stakeholder value in the years to come.
“Next week I will proudly hand over the CEO reins to James Quincey with full confidence that he will complete the company’s transformation and lead our aggressive growth agenda. His vision of accelerating The Coca-Cola Company’s evolution into a total beverage business with a focus on driving sustainable growth across a broad portfolio is exciting for all stakeholders, and he has my full support.”
Incoming CEO James Quincey said: “We are rapidly evolving our growth model to make changes that will result in an even more consumer-centric portfolio that meets people’s changing tastes and preferences. Importantly, these portfolio changes will help our consumers moderate the amount of added sugar they consume. In addition, as we approach the end of our refranchising and implement our new, more agile operating model, we are expanding our productivity programme. Our revamped portfolio, a stronger global bottling system, and a leaner enterprise structure will allow us to capture an increasing share of the vibrant value growth available in the beverage industry and to deliver value for our shareowners. It will be an honor and a privilege to lead the organisation as CEO, and I look forward to working with our people around the world to accelerate our growth.”
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