PepsiCo intends to remove roughly 1,000 roles from its North American food and beverage divisions, according to Hespress English. The restructuring aims to streamline operations and boost regional growth, which has lagged expectations. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg first estimated the headcount reduction, while Reuters accessed an internal memo detailing the timeline and reasons for the changes.
Ram Krishnan, chief executive of PepsiCo North America, told staff on November 9 that organizational adjustments would begin the following week. The memo explained that the changes would consolidate teams, define decision-making authority, and enable faster managerial action. Krishnan stated that the company aims to move faster and execute better to invest in opportunities that drive growth.
The decision followed an October warning that North American core operating margins would face pressure in the fourth quarter. Weak soda sales and reduced demand for premium snacks have hurt volume growth, while higher input costs have squeezed profits. In the third quarter, North American beverage volumes fell 2% year over year, though reported revenue rose 5% partly due to acquisitions. Organic revenue, excluding acquisitions and currency effects, stayed flat for the division.
The restructuring also addresses demands from Elliott Investment Management, which invested $4 billion in PepsiCo in September 2025. The activist investor pushed the company to review its North American bottling network and align food manufacturing costs with demand. In December 2025, PepsiCo detailed a turnaround plan that involved closing three plants and cutting the U.S. product lineup by about 20%.
PepsiCo had about 306,000 employees globally at the end of 2025, including roughly 125,000 in the U.S. The company now projects core earnings per share growth of 1% to 2% in fiscal 2026, down from an earlier forecast of 4% to 6%. A separate productivity initiative involving automation and network changes will continue through 2030.