Experts have weighed in on Anheuser-Busch’s recent decision to lay off hundreds of U.S. employees, saying that it indicates that Americans want big corporations to move away from progressive politics.
This week, the company confirmed to news outlets that about 2 percent of the firm’s 19,000 U.S. employees would be laid off. That mainly impacts the firm’s corporate workforce and not front-line workers such as brewers, distributors, and warehouse workers, the brewing giant said.
Since April, Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned Bud Light has seen a significant decline in year-over-year sales, coming after backlash over the firm’s decision to engage in a promotional campaign with a transgender influencer. The company has since tried to distance itself from the campaign.
One analyst said Friday that it may be a sign that Americans have had enough of corporations embracing left-wing viewpoints.
“I think the pendulum has finally swung to the end,” Oxygen Financial CEO Ted Jenkin told Fox News, adding that consumers are “starting to say, look, we love the products and services many companies sell us.”
But, he added, “We just don’t want any agenda to force down our throats, and we definitely don’t want anything political forced down our throats. And if you do, we’re going to exercise our free speech to vote with our feet—and that means not buy your product.”
Mr. Jenkins alleged the company’s statement that it would “simplify and reduce layers” means, according to him, that it will “clean up the corporate mess” in a bid to make shareholders happy and increase the stock price. Since early April, Anheuser-Busch’s stock is down about 11 percent
Layoffs
This week, Anheuser-Busch told several news outlets that it would be cutting some of its corporate employees and that a restructuring will be implemented to “simplify and reduce layers within its organization.” Without providing more details, Anheuser-Busch said the layoffs won’t include frontline workers such as “brewery and warehouse staff, drivers, and field sales, among others.”The statement did not say whether the layoffs will impact Bud Light’s corporate division. But the new job eliminations will signify “less than 2 percent” of Anheuser-Busch’s staff in the United States, according to the company. Reports indicated that about 380 employees would be terminated of the company’s some 19,000 U.S. workforce.
“Today we took the very difficult but necessary decision to eliminate a number of positions across our corporate organization,” Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said Thursday. “While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success.”
Mr. Whitworth said the layoffs would include corporate and marketing roles at U.S. offices in St. Louis, New York, and Los Angeles, reported The Wall Street Journal.
In early April, Bud Light produced a can with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney’s face on it before the TikTok influencer posted it on social media, drawing an immediate backlash. The head of Anheuser-Busch’s global operations, Michel Doukeris, told investors days later that just “one can” with the influencer’s face was made in what appeared to be an attempt to distance the brand from the controversy.
Since then, Bud Light’s sales have consistently dropped year over year. For the months of May and June, Bud Light lost its number-one spot in terms of sales to Modelo Especial, a Constellation Brands-owned beer.
Anheuser-Busch said it put two employees on leave: Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, and Daniel Blake, Budweiser’s vice president for marketing.
In the immediate aftermath of the boycott calls, Mr. Whitworth said that the firm was trying to bring “people together over a beer.”
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” he said. “Moving forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation.”
Months later, Mr. Whitworth told CBS News that Anheuser-Busch officials spoke to more than 100,000 people to get customer feedback in a bid to re-calibrate the Bud Light brand.
“The feedback is to reinforce what Bud Light has always meant to them, which is good times, goodwill, and easy enjoyment,” Mr. Whitworth said. He did not, however, make any reference to the controversy.
Last week, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a 2024 presidential candidate, announced that his administration was considering legal action against Anheuser-Busch and Anheuser-Busch InBev in response to the financial impact of the ill-fated advertisement campaign. Since April 1, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s shares have declined about 11 percent overall.
Other companies have also faced boycott calls in recent months. Target, for example, was heavily criticized after it prominently “pride month”-themed items in stories, including some products that were clearly marketed to children.
The Epoch Times has contacted Anheuser-Busch InBev and Anheuser-Busch’s American operations for comment Friday.
