According to multiple reports in the US media, PepsiCo is set to cut around 1,000 jobs from its North American workforce following consistently sluggish sales figures in the region.
As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the cuts could be announced as early as next week as the manufacturer seeks to streamline its operations and better connect teams across its North America unit.
A company filing from December 2025 shows that the food and drink powerhouse employs around 306,000 people worldwide, with an estimated 125,000 in the United States alone.
“We have a clear ambition for PepsiCo North America: to build a stronger, more future-fit business that delivers industry-leading growth,” Ram Krishnan, chief executive of PepsiCo North America, wrote in a Monday letter to employees.
“To do that, we need to be faster, more connected, and more capable, while continuing to invest in growth - behind our people, capabilities and brands.”
PepsiCo has been dealing with a series of complex challenges in recent years, with weak consumer demand, fuelled by rising food and drink inflation, hampering its ability to deliver profit growth.
Higher input costs, increased competition from long-time rival Coca-Cola and the growing impact of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have combined to put considerable strain on its North American business, which has experienced a sustained decline in volumes.
Despite undertaking significant initiatives to improve its performance, including efforts to deliver record productivity savings and introducing a 15% price cut for flagship products such as Lay’s and Doritos, these measures have failed to yield tangible improvements.
The company is also facing pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which took a roughly $4 billion stake in PepsiCo a year ago.
This culminated in PepsiCo cutting its full-year earnings forecast, citing its struggles in the US. Its North America beverage unit saw volume fall by 2% during the third quarter, while its North America food division reported flat volume.
