Coca-Cola, the world’s biggest soft drink maker, is going to fire 750 workers in its division in the United States after a decision made in February to decrease its distribution regions from the current seven to three. The cuts will be made in the next couple of months and represents around 1 percent of jobs in the company’s North American unit that includes Canada and the US. A quarter of the job cuts will be in Atlanta, where the soft drink maker’s headquarters is located.
Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent has been working on the restructuring of the distribution in the United States since purchasing the North American operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. in 2010. Coca-Cola bottles around 80 percent of its drinks volume sold in the United States. The company said that it was reducing its distribution regions in order to improve effectiveness and cut expenses. The Coca-Cola refreshments bottling unit now consists of Central, East and West divisions.
Coca-Cola shares increased 1.3 percent to $40.37. The company’s shares increased 10 percent this year compared to the 9.3 percent increase for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Coca-Cola noted that it managed to have profit growth in a year that was marked by continued uncertainty in the global economy.
Last month, Coca-Cola released a memo to its employees that stated the company identified areas that needed improvement since it purchased the North American operations in 2010. It also said that the company was realigning its US business into three regions from the current seven as it restructures its food-service business. The memo said that the company was improving its processes, structures and systems.
Last year, Coca-Cola reported a 5 percent increase in net income as its sales volume gained 4 percent across the globe. Some of the brands it owns are Sprite, Powerade, Minute Maid, and Dasani bottled water.
