Coca-Cola set to cut up to 1,800 jobs worldwide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Drinks giant Coca-Cola is set to cut up to 1,800 jobs worldwide as it continues cost-cutting efforts, according to BBC News.

Coca-Cola reported a 14% fall in earnings for the July to September quarter last year and sluggish revenue growth.

The job cuts will affect the firm's Atlanta headquarters, as well as its international operations. The firm said it had already started to inform those workers who will be affected by the cuts.

"[We have begun] the process of informing associates in the United States and in some international locations about the impacts to their departments," a spokesperson from Coca-Cola said in an emailed statement to the BBC.

The firm said further cuts would be made by different departments at various times. "We have identified 1,600 to 1,800 positions in Corporate, Coca-Cola North America and Coca-Cola International that will be eliminated in the coming months," the spokesperson said.

Coca-Cola has a global workforce of about 130,000.

In October last year, Coca-Cola's chief executive officer Muhtar Kent said the firm was aiming to save some $3bn in annual costs by 2019, which would include job cuts.

At the time, Kent said he recognized the need for the company "to increase the scope and pace of change" as it continued to face a challenging economic environment.

He said the firm was focused on "streamlining and simplifying" its operations and that it was proceeding with plans "for refranchising the majority of company-owned North American bottling territories by the end of 2017".