November has already been a tough month for layoffs.
In the tech sector, numerous big-name companies, including Amazon, Block, and Squarespace, have already cut roles or are planning to. But workplace reductions are not limited to just tech.
Yesterday, soft drink giant PepsiCo, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEP) reportedly announced that it will lay off around 1,000 employees in North America as sales in the region underperform. Here’s what you need to know.
Pepsi tells employees to prepare for job cuts
PepsiCo CEO Ram Krishnan wrote to employees stating that the company will cut around 1,000 positions in North America in the coming days, multiple media outlets reported.
In the email Krishnan sent to employees (per CNBC), the Pepsi boss said the company’s ambitions were to “build a stronger, more future-fit business that delivers industry-leading growth” in North America.
He added: “To do that, we need to be faster, more connected, and more capable, while continuing to invest in growth — behind our people, capabilities and brands.”
Unfortunately, the endeavor also involves layoffs.
“We will simplify how we operate, better connect teams and strengthen the capabilities we need,” Krishnan wrote. “The goal is to move faster, execute better and invest behind the opportunities that will drive our growth.” The Wall Street Journal first reported the layoffs.
The layoffs will be limited to Pepsi’s North American workforce, which includes roughly 125,000 positions in the United States.
Worldwide, Pepsi employs about 306,000 people as of the end of last year. The layoffs will reportedly happen over the coming week.
Fast Company reached out to PepsiCo for comment.
Pepsi’s North American sales lag other global markets
Last month, Pepsi announced its Q3 2026 financial results, which were broadly respectable. Net revenue increased 5.6%, and operating profit increased 19%.
As CNBC reported at the time, the company’s $25.27 billion in revenue for the quarter exceeded street expectations of $24.96 billion, and its adjusted EPS of $2.34 exceeded the $2.29 analysts had expected.
But Pepsi’s relatively positive results largely came from its international markets, which, year-to-date, have accounted for 41% of its net revenue.
In Pepsi’s home territory of North America, things are less rosy.
The North American food division of Pepsi, which includes products like Frito-Lay snacks, saw volume remain flat, while its beverage business volume declined by 2%.
The lackluster results in North America led Pepsi to reduce its core earnings per share expectations for the full 2026 fiscal year. Previously, Pepsi had expected growth of 5% to 7%. Now it expects growth of 2.5% to 3.5%.
When it came to Pepsi’s North American snacks results, the company blamed the lackluster demand on “the consumer environment.”
Pepsi stock loses its fizz
Pepsi’s North American numbers are the only thing going flat. The company’s share price has lost its fizz over the course of 2026.
PEP stock began the year performing strongly: By late February, shares were up over 20% since the year began. But since a high above $170 reached in early 2026, Pepsi shares have declined significantly.
As of yesterday’s close, PEP stock traded at $141. While its share price has increased more than 12% over the past 30 days, that recovery has not been enough to erase the mid-year losses.
As of yesterday’s close, PEP shares were down 1.1% for the year. The broader S&P 500 is up more than 10% over that same period.
But if Pepsi executives hoped layoffs could quickly boost the company’s stock price, they’ll be disappointed. While investors tend to cheer layoffs, since cutting jobs is often the easiest way to quickly improve the bottom line, they seem to have shrugged off the news.
Since the job cuts became public yesterday, PEP shares have hardly moved. Yesterday, Pepsi stock closed up just under four-tenths of a percent, and today in premarket trading, shares are up about the same amount as of the time of this writing.
