Coca-Cola to buy out 4,000 employees in company restructure

ATLANTA — Atlanta-based beverage company The Coca-Cola Co. announced Friday it will offer thousands of employees across North America the opportunity to take part in a “voluntary separation program,” WSB-TV reported.

The offer will go out to 4,000 employees who started working for the company on or before Sept. 1, 2017 across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada.

The move is part of a major corporate restructuring, WSB-TV reported.

“The company’s structural changes will result in the reallocation of some people and resources, which will include voluntary and involuntary reductions in employees. The company is working on this next stage of design and will share more information in the future,” Coca-Cola stated in a press release.

The company, which has 86,000 employees worldwide, will spend up to $550 million in total for the pay-outs.

It will change operations on the local and regional levels, and will slim down from 17 business units to nine.

“We have been on a multi-year journey to transform our organization,” Chairman and CEO James Quincey said in a release. “The changes in our operating model will shift our marketing to drive more growth and put execution closer to customers and consumers while prioritizing a portfolio of strong brands and a disciplined innovation framework. As we implement these changes, we’re continuing to evolve our organization, which will include significant changes in the structure of our workforce.”

According to The Associated Press, half of the company’s sales come from stadium-hosted events, such as sports games and concerts, as well as movie theaters and other places where people gather in large numbers. Those types of events have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Coke reported a 28% drop in revenue in the second quarter this year. It reported a net income of $1.8 billion for the April-June period, down 32% from the same period a year ago, according to the AP.

The 400-brand company reported it will scrap some of it’s smaller brands, including Odwalla, which will no longer be produced after next week.

The Associated Press and WSB-TV contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group