Heineken USA (HUSA) is cutting 14% of its workforce, effective January 1, 2021, Brewbound has confirmed.
“These are unprecedented times that require difficult decisions,” a HUSA spokesperson said in a statement. “Heineken NV’s business globally was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond the financial impacts, COVID-19 has changed consumer trends. We need to adapt more urgently to the new realities of our environment which means that we had to make some difficult decisions that unfortunately impact 14% of employees throughout the organization. While change that impacts our people is always difficult, we have a strong plan for 2021 and are confident in the future.”
HUSA, the U.S. operating company for Heineken International, imports, markets and sells the global brewer’s namesake brands, as well as Dos Equis and Tecate, among others.
In late October, Heineken N.V. announced a “streamlining” effort to cut management jobs by a fifth in the first quarter of 2021. The Financial Times reported that head and regional offices account for around 1,700 of the Dutch brewer’s 85,000 employees.
The cuts come amid turbulence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has slashed sales within the on-premise channel as bars and restaurants have shuttered for on-site service during the pandemic. In the UK, the global beer giant operates more than 2,500 pubs.
As consumers have shifted their purchasing to off-premise retailers in the U.S., dollar sales of the Heineken and Dos Equis brands families have increased. Year-to-date through November 1, dollar sales of the Heineken family of products are up 9.5%, to more than $765.66 million, in off-premise multi-outlet and convenience stores tracked by market research firm IRI. Meanwhile, dollar sales of the Dos Equis brand family are up 11.7%, to $365.5 million, the firm reported.
During the company’s national sales meeting in October, HUSA shared that Heineken 0.0, its zero alcohol version of its flagship offering, was closing in on 2 million cases.
HUSA heads into 2021 with several innovations slated to hit the market, including a hard seltzer collaboration with AriZona called SunRise; a Tecate-branded, lower-calorie, super-premium challenger to Michelob Ultra called Alta; and a focus on expanding distribution of its core offerings in cans, particularly in 12-packs.
In February 2019, HUSA cut 15% of its workforce as part of an effort to restructure its sales organization.
News of the latest round of layoffs was first reported by Beer Business Daily.