The PepsiCo job cuts will hit about 1,000 roles across North America over the coming week, as the food and drinks group tries to turn around lagging sales in its home market. Ram Krishnan, chief executive of PepsiCo North America, told staff in a letter on Monday that the company needs a simpler structure, and CNBC obtained the letter. The Wall Street Journal first reported the coming layoffs.
Krishnan wrote in the letter: “We have a clear ambition for PepsiCo North America: to build a stronger, more future-fit business that delivers industry-leading growth.” He also told staff that too much of how the company works today remains complex and fragmented, and that it has opportunities to simplify its structures, clarify accountability and make decisions faster, according to reports of the memo.
PepsiCo employs about 306,000 people worldwide, including roughly 125,000 in the United States, according to a company filing. The PepsiCo job cuts amount to a small share of that workforce, but they are the clearest sign yet that the North American business is under pressure. The company has not confirmed the exact number of roles affected, or which teams will be hit.
PepsiCo job cuts and the third quarter sales
The PepsiCo job cuts follow a weak third quarter in North America. Beverage volume in the region fell 2 per cent, while food volume was flat, according to CNBC.
PepsiCo cut its full-year 2026 earnings outlook in October, citing the struggles in its home market. Chief financial officer Steve Schmitt said on the company’s earnings call that price cuts and marketing investment were taking longer than expected to lift sales. The company has tried to win back shoppers by cutting prices and spending more on marketing, but the turnaround is taking longer than planned.
The PepsiCo job cuts are part of a push to simplify operations and connect teams across the North American business. Krishnan’s letter framed the changes as a way to build a business that can grow again, rather than a one-off round of savings. The roles will go over the coming week, according to the reports, and staff were told on Monday.
Krishnan runs PepsiCo North America, the division that covers the company’s food and drinks business in its home market. His letter to staff was the first detailed account of the cuts, and CNBC obtained a copy of it on Monday. The changes come in the wake of PepsiCo’s third-quarter results, released on 8 October, according to HCA Magazine.
The PepsiCo job cuts follow a productivity plan the board set out eleven months earlier, in a filing on 8 December 2025 titled Priorities to Enhance Shareholder Value. For the 12 weeks to 5 September, PepsiCo reported net revenue of 25.27 billion dollars, up 5.6 per cent from a year earlier, while the North American food unit’s net revenue was flat and its core operating profit fell 12 per cent.
PepsiCo job cuts and the road ahead
PepsiCo’s North American business has been the weak spot in an otherwise steady set of results. Consumers have pulled back on discretionary spending, and the company’s drinks and snacks have felt that pull. The PepsiCo job cuts come as the group tries to cut costs while it waits for its price cuts and marketing to show up in volumes.
The company has not said which functions will lose roles, and it has not given a timetable beyond the coming week. The 1,000 figure traces back to the Wall Street Journal’s first report, and it has been repeated across Reuters and CNBC without an independent confirmation of the total from the company. PepsiCo has yet to confirm the exact number of employees affected.
The PepsiCo job cuts will be watched as a test of whether a leaner North American business can return to growth. The company reports its next set of results in the new year, and by then the effects of the cuts and the price changes should start to show. For now, about 1,000 staff in North America face an uncertain week.