We’ve been covering the continuing implosion of Bud Light, and now it’s just gotten a lot worse for them.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is now laying off hundreds of workers in its U.S. offices, after having months of falling sales in the wake of the boycott related to their relationship with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The “workers” aren’t going to be the frontline guys such as the guys who brew the beer, drivers, or working guys — it’s going to be the people in the corporate offices, according to the report. The cuts would hit up to two percent of the 18,000 workforce. Two percent is about 360 workers.
“While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success,” Anheuser-Busch Chief Executive Brendan Whitworth said in a written statement. “These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best—brewing great beer for everyone.”
The restructuring eliminated corporate and marketing roles at major U.S. offices, including St. Louis, New York and Los Angeles.
So now it’s hitting the executives right where they live — in their jobs.
In addition to sales falling up to 30 percent and losing billions in market capitalization, Bud Light also tumbled out of the number one beer sold in America, losing the crown to Modelo Especial. They also tumbled out of the top ten beers in popularity. On top of that, they also got the “death star” from at least some Costco stores which was another indication of just how bad things were going.
You know things are bad when even Joe Rogan and Ice Cube are calling you out.
Yet despite all that, the folks behind Bud Light are still not being honest about what’s going on here, as my colleague Mike Miller explained. Whitworth is the CEO of the “North America Zone” and Michel Doukeris is the Anheuser-Busch InBev top CEO. Doukeris tried to downplay the losses and went back to their initial defense.
Let me start by clarifying a few facts. This was the result of one can. It was not made for production or sale to the general public. It was one post, not a formal campaign or advertisement.
Bud Light is very important to our U.S. business, and I would never minimize the situation. However, seeing the context of our global company provides perspective.
It wasn’t about the one can or a million cans, it was about endorsing the “365 days of girlhood” of Mulvaney mocking women. Even Mulvaney threw them under the bus on that one, saying that they had hired him and they did have a deal.
Doukeris seems to just want to downplay the losses and act like they’re not happening. That’s their tactic now, they’re not going to apologize or reevaluate to figure out how to address anything.
