BRUSSELS — In a bid to restore operating margins to pre-pandemic levels, the world’s second-largest brewer announced plans Wednesday to cut 8,000 jobs and boost focus on online alcohol sales as well as hard seltzer and non-alcoholic products.
Dutch brewer Heineken announced the nearly 10% reduction in its global workforce in its Wednesday earnings statement, framing the move as part of a cost-cutting plan engineered by CEO Dolf van den Brink after novel coronavirus restrictions fueled a 2020 net loss of $248 million, Fox Business reported.
According to Reuters, Van den Brink’s “EverGreen” plan is projected to save the company roughly $2.4 billion through 2023, by “redesigning its organization, reducing the complexity and number of products and identifying its least effective spending.”
Meanwhile, Van den Brink called 2020 a “year of unprecedented disruption and transition” for the brewer that saw global COVID-19 restrictions shutter bars and pubs worldwide during sporadic lockdowns and prompt alcohol bans in some of Heineken’s key markets. Those restrictions resulted in 8% fewer 2020 sales compared with 2019, and a 17% decrease in revenue of nearly $29 billion, Fox Business reported.
According to CNN Business, spikes in 2020 online alcohol sales benefitted the beleaguered sector overall, and Heineken in particular saw its direct-to-consumer platforms – including Beerwulf, Six2Go and Drinkies – triple orders amid the pandemic. Online sales of the company’s home-draught systems also increased modestly into the “mid-double-digits.”
Specifically, Heineken said in its earning statement that the non-alcoholic drink segment shows “much potential for growth” and plans to boost distribution of those offerings while also forging into hard seltzer, or flavored sparkling water containing alcohol, the network reported.
“We aspire to deliver superior and profitable growth in a fast-changing world,” Van den Brink added.
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