ATLANTA — Atlanta-based soft drink giant Coca-Cola announced Thursday that they are cutting their worldwide workforce by about 2,200 persons, or about 17 percent.
Company officials said this was part of a global reorganization effort that they said had started prior to the pandemic.
According to a release from Scott Leith, vice president of Global External and Financial Communications, while the COVID-19 pandemic was not a cause for the changes, it was a catalyst for the company to accelerate the internal changes taking place.
Leith said reorganization plans were announced in August and will continue into 2021.
He said that Coca-Cola will streamline into nine operating units, create five category leads, and launch a new platform services organization, with goals that include gaining market share, and strengthening stakeholder impact.
In Atlanta, the net workforce reduction will be about 500 roles. The net reduction in the United States will be about 1,200 roles, he said.
The change in corporate structure will be accomplished through a combination of voluntary separation programs as well as a level of involuntary reductions, Leith said..
Leith pointed out that the company is not disclosing headcount changes by individual operating units, and they are not disclosing the number of employees who have accepted their voluntary separation program.
Finally, these totals do not include employees of Coca-Cola bottlers, he said.