Beyond Meat cuts non-production workforce by 19% as plant-based meat demand weakens
The reduction of is part of a broader corporate review, the company says.
Beyond Meat is cutting 19% of its non-production workforce after a weaker-than-expected third quarter.
The plant-based meat company said Thursday that the reduction of about 65 employees is part of a broader corporate review. The company is also considering exiting some product lines, changing pricing, shifting its manufacturing and restructuring its Chinese operations.
Beyond Meat's shares rose 20% in afternoon trading Thursday.
“We anticipated a modest return to growth in the third quarter of 2023 that did not occur,” Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said in a statement.
U.S. demand for plant-based meat has plummeted this year. U.S. retail dollar sales of fresh meat alternatives, like sausage and burgers, were down 21.5% this year through Oct. 8, according to Circana, a market research firm. Frozen plant-based meat sales, including items like tenders and nuggets, were down 6%.
Brown has said that plant-based meat sales were hurt by high inflation, which sent some shoppers back to cheaper animal meats. Plant-based meat is also fighting perceptions that it's overly processed and unhealthy, stoked in part by ads released by rival food companies.
Beyond Meat plans to release its third-quarter earnings on Nov. 8. In the meantime, it said it expects revenue of $75 million for the July-September period. That would be 8.5% lower than the same period a year ago.
Beyond Meat also said it now expects full-year net revenue in the range of $330 million to $340 million, which would be 19% to 21% lower than the previous year. Wall Street had expected full-year sales of $365 million, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
The layoffs aren't the first
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