Dutch brewerHeinekenis planning to lay off up to up to 7% of its workforce, as it looks to boost efficiency through productivity savings from AI, following weak beer sales last year.
The world's second-largest brewer reportedlackluster earningson Wednesday, with total beer volumes declining 2.4% over the course of 2025, while adjusted operating profit was up 4.4%.
The company also said it plans to cut between 5,000 and 6,000 roles over the next two years and is targeting operating profit growth in the range of 2% to 6% this year. Heineken's shares were last seen up 3.4%, and the stock is up nearly 7% so far this year.
Outgoing CEO Dolf van den Brink told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday that the results were due to "challenging market circumstances," but performance was overall well-balanced.
Heineken's outlook for 2026 comes in below the usual range but "is in line with buyside expectations and consistent with peerCarlsberg, and prudent in light of a new incoming," UBS analysts said in a note on Wednesday.
Regarding the cuts, Van den Brink said: "Productivity has been a top priority in our evergreen strategy... we committed to 400 to 500 million euros ($476 million to $600 million) of savings on an annual basis, and this is a first operationalization of that debt commitment."
The job reductions will help the brewer to invest in growth and in its premium brands, he said.
Van den Brink acknowledged that the cuts came "partly also due to AI, or let's say digitization."
"That's a very big part of our EverGreen 2030 strategy, with around 3,000 roles moving to our business services, where technology digitization in general, and AI specifically, will be an important part of ongoing productivity savings," he said.
The EverGreen 2030 strategy focuses on three core areas, including accelerating growth, increasing productivity, and future-fit.
Source: Drudge Report
