Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) reportedly plans to cull around 2% of its corporate jobs in the US to “simplify” layers in its organisation.
According to CNN, the US brewing powerhouse claims the cuts will only affect corporate posts and not include staff who work in its breweries, warehouses, sales or logistics.
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“Today we took the very difficult but necessary decision to eliminate a number of positions across our corporate organisation,” Brendan Whitworth, the president of AB InBev’s operations in North America, said in a statement published by CNN. “While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organisation continues to be set for future long-term success.”
Just Drinks has contacted AB InBev officials in the US and at its HQ in the Belgian town of Leuven for comment.
Since April, the brewer has seen sales in the US suffer in the wake of a backlash against its collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. AB InBev sent a personalised can of Bud Light to Mulvaney to commemorate the anniversary of her transition.
Sales of Constellation Brands’ Modelo Especial surpassed Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light brand in the US for the first time last month.
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By GlobalDataFigures shared with Just Drinks by Constellation Brands revealed the Mexican lager brand racked up $333m in sales in the four weeks ended 28 May 2023. This compares with Bud Light’s $297m sales total for the same period.
Last month, Whitworth said the brewer would undertake three “important actions” as it sought to move its business forward.
“First, we are investing to protect the jobs of our frontline employees, said Whitworth. “Second, we are providing financial assistance to our independent wholesalers to help them support their employees.
“Third, to all our valued consumers, we hear you. Our summer advertising launches next week, and you can look forward to Bud Light reinforcing what you’ve always loved about our brand – that it’s easy to drink and easy to enjoy.”
The pressure from the boycott and public fallout continues to compound for the brewer. Florida governor Ron DeSantis weighed in on the issue last week and called for an immediate review of the state’s holdings with Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Following AB InBev’s attempt to move on from the incident, last month Mulvaney attacked the brewer for failing to stand by her when her post became a lightning rod for anti-trans sentiment in the US.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all,” Mulvaney said. “It gives customers permission to be as transphobic as hateful as they want, and the hate doesn’t end with me.”
