Workers at four Walkers Crisps factories in the UK now face potential job losses as PepsiCo initiates consultations on restructuring proposals.
According to LeicestershireLive, a total of 560 PepsiCo positions are at risk, with approximately 250 jobs potentially impacted at the flagship Walkers site in Leicester.
The multinational stated, “We recently informed our teams that we will be consulting on proposed changes to our operational structure, affecting a proportion of employees at our snacks manufacturing sites in the UK.”
These restructuring proposals will affect PepsiCo’s four largest UK sites in Leicester, Coventry, Lincoln, and Skelmersdale, which together employ around 4,500 individuals, stated LeicestershireLive.
The PepsiCo spokesperson highlighted, “No decisions will be made without first consulting affected employees and their representatives. Our priority is providing support for our people throughout this process.”
Furthermore, the spokesperson added that the proposed changes aim to align the UK sites with an operational structure that has proven successful at other international sites. This adjustment is expected to foster “better ways of working and increased technical capabilities.”
Recently, PepsiCo has made several changes to its production network in the US. For instance, in June, the company halted production at a Frito-Lay processing plant in Southern California after more than fifty years of operation.
Earlier in February, PepsiCo announced the closure of a snacks manufacturing plant in New York related to its PopCorners brand, which is expected to impact over 200 employees.
Moreover, in May, PepsiCo declared plans to double investment and significantly increase output capacity at its under-construction salty snacks plant in Kazakhstan, with aims to reach full production capacity by 2027.
