PepsiCo announced a plan to slash 3,300 jobs on Oct. 14 as weak sales in the U.S. hit its earnings. The cuts will affect 1.8% the company's work force, and result in fourth-quarter charges of $550-600 million.
Analysts say consumers are cutting spending on non-essential items and shopping in convenience stores -- a key driver of Pepsico's business.
"We were adversely impacted by continued weakness in the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage category, which resulted in disappointing performance in our domestic beverage business," said PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. "We are taking important steps to revitalize our beverage portfolio."
The group reported third-quarter net profit of $1.58 billion, down nearly 10% from $1.74 billion a year ago. Sales grew 10.5% to $11.24 billion.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
