PepsiCo to Cut About 1,000 North American Jobs as Sales Stall
PepsiCo is eliminating about 1,000 roles in North America as it tries to revive sluggish soda and snack sales in its home market.
PepsiCo is cutting about 1,000 jobs in its North American business. The maker of Pepsi, Doritos and Lay’s is trying to simplify its operations and revive sales in its biggest market. The Wall Street Journal first reported the number on Monday. Within hours, CNBC, Reuters and Bloomberg News had each described an internal letter to staff announcing the changes.
The letter was signed by Ram Krishnan, chief executive of PepsiCo North America, the unit that runs the company’s U.S. and Canadian food and beverage operations. It said the changes would roll out over the coming week. The layoffs follow a run of weak results and a lowered profit forecast. An activist investor has also been pressing the company to turn things around.
What happened
In the memo, Krishnan said the company needs to become “faster, more connected, and more capable,” according to CNBC, which obtained a copy. He described the goal as building a business that “delivers industry-leading growth.”
Bloomberg News reported that Krishnan told workers that “too much of how we work today remains complex and fragmented.” He said the company had chances to simplify its structures, clarify who is accountable for what and make decisions more quickly. According to Reuters, which also saw the letter, Krishnan wrote that the aim is to “move faster, execute better, and invest behind the opportunities that will drive our growth.”
Outlets reported the size of the cuts in slightly different ways. CNBC and Bloomberg put the number at about 1,000 roles. Reuters attributed the figure to the Journal and said it could not confirm it independently. The memo itself, as quoted, referred to changes affecting “parts of our organization” and did not say which teams or locations would be affected.
The cuts are small next to PepsiCo’s total workforce. According to the company’s most recent annual report, it employed about 306,000 people worldwide as of Dec. 27, 2025, including roughly 125,000 in the United States.
Why it matters
North America is PepsiCo’s most important market, and it has been struggling there. In October, the company lowered its full-year earnings outlook and blamed continued softness in the region, particularly in beverages. CNBC reported that North American beverage volume fell 2% in the third quarter, while food volume was flat.
Reports point to several pressures on the business:
- Soft soda demand: Reuters cited sluggish soda sales as a key drag on the beverage unit.
- Pickier snack shoppers: Bloomberg reported that PepsiCo has had trouble holding its share of the salty-snack market after raising prices, as consumers grew more careful with their spending. Reuters noted weaker demand for higher-priced snacks.
- Higher costs: Reuters said elevated input costs have added to the pressure on profits.
- A lost restaurant contract: Bloomberg reported that PepsiCo recently lost its contract to supply KFC’s U.S. restaurants to rival Coca-Cola.
The company has tried to win shoppers back by cutting prices and spending more on marketing, CNBC reported. Steve Schmitt, PepsiCo’s chief financial officer, acknowledged on the company’s October earnings call that the turnaround was taking longer than expected, according to CNBC.
Background
The job cuts are part of a broader cost-savings push. Reuters reported that it belongs to a turnaround PepsiCo launched after Elliott Investment Management, an activist hedge fund known for pushing companies to change strategy, took a stake of about $4 billion in the company roughly a year ago.
PepsiCo is also among the largest private trucking operators in the region. Transport Topics, a trade publication that ran Bloomberg’s report, ranks it No. 2 on its list of the largest private carriers in North America.
Investors took the news calmly. PepsiCo shares rose about 1% in late-afternoon trading on Monday, Reuters reported. CNBC noted that the stock was down nearly 1% for the year so far, while the broader S&P 500 index had gained nearly 11% over the same period.
What comes next
Affected employees are expected to be notified over the next week, according to the memo as described by several outlets. PepsiCo has not publicly said which departments, offices or job levels will be hit, or how much it expects to save.
The bigger question is whether a leaner structure can turn sales around in North America, where the company’s core soda and snack brands face cautious shoppers and tough competition. Investors will be watching PepsiCo’s next quarterly results, and any update to its outlook, for signs that the cost cuts and earlier price reductions are bringing volume back.
