MARCH 14, 2021 — PLANT CLOSURE WITH 76 LAYOFFS IN GRAND PRARIE, TEXAS
As part of a consolidation plan, the company has announced the closure of its Grand Prarie, Texas water processing and distribution operation. 76 employees, including logistics managers, warehouse workers, and truck drivers will be impacted.
Water production will be transferred to Niagara Bottling Co., an independent partner.
DECEMBER 19, 2020) — 1,200 LAYOFFS TARGETED IN 2021
The company has reported that it will attempt a cost-cutting reduction-in-force of 2,200 jobs worldwide, with 1,200 jobs in the United States at risk. The company will attempt the reduction by first offering voluntary buyouts and retirements prior to permanent layoffs.
The decision was driven by the coronavirus pandemic as outdoor activities, entertainment venues, and hospitality operations are curtailed by government restrictions.
This comes after the reorganization of the company’s North American business unit and the offer of voluntary separations to 4,000 employees in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
OCTOBER 24, 2020 — TAB BRAND COLA TO BE DISCONTINUED
The company has announced that, after nearly 60 years, the company is discontinuing its TAB-branded cola, its first diet soda.
The decision was driven by changing consumer tastes and the declining number of loyal Tab enthusiasts.
Like most companies with a large brand portfolio, it strives to develop new products and concentrate its efforts on its best-sellers.
The company will continue its major restructuring that will see corporate realignments, replacing 17 business units with nine divisions, eliminating duplicative functions, a reduction in headcount, and a serious pruning of its brand portfolio.
AUGUST 28, 2020 — MAJOR REORGANIZATION, 4000 EMPLOYEES OFFERED VOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS. THOUSANDS MORE AT RISK.
The company announced strategic steps to reorganize and better enable the Coca-Cola system to pursue its Beverages for Life strategy, with a portfolio of drinks that are positioned to capture growth in a fast-changing marketplace.
According to Chairman and CEO James Quincey, “We have been on a multi-year journey to transform our organization. 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.”
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 the design and will share more information in the future.
In order to minimize the impact of these structural changes, the company today announced a voluntary separation program that will give employees the option of taking a separation package, if eligible.
The program will provide enhanced benefits and will first be offered to approximately 4,000 employees in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico who have a most-recent hire date on or before Sept. 1, 2017. A similar program will be offered in many countries internationally. The voluntary program is expected to reduce the number of involuntary separations.
DECEMBER 12, 2018 COCA-COLA/SOUTHWEST BEVERAGES
97 employees at Coca-Cola-Southwest Beverages in Dallas, Texas will be laid off. as the company transfers production processing to facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, and elsewhere.
According to a company spokesperson, “Effective February 2019, to optimize our supply chain network and bring greater efficiencies to our local operations, we are moving production volume from our Dallas-Buckner facility to our manufacturing facilities in Fort Worth, Nacogdoches, San Antonio, and Abilene.”
“The move "will enable us to more effectively utilize our production capacity. While we are discontinuing use of two production lines within the manufacturing operations in Buckner, our operations will continue for our front-line salespeople, warehouse, distribution, drivers, merchandisers, and our nearby equipment fulfillment center."
MARCH 1, 2018 — Original post…
The bottled drink and snack business is changing dramatically. Everything from changing consumer tastes, purchasing options, disrupted supply chains, and outsourcing is impacting the business. As we reported in November (2017), Coca-Cola had just announced another 1,200 layoffs by the end of 2017. And noted that Coca-Cola has shed more than 20,000 employees by the end of 2016.
So it should come as no surprise that Coca-Cola just announced another 400 layoffs, mostly management positions in Atlanta, Georgia, the home of corporate headquarters.
According to Coke CEO James Quincey, "We reduced the head office in part because we'd sold off the bottling companies and we were able to bring in some new digital technology, and we shrunk the head office and got more focused on empowering the countries out there. So we're taking the necessary steps in a Coke way -- humanely and with dignity -- but we're gonna be productive. We are going to make a ‘choiceful use of resources.’
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
