Dive Brief:
- Bacardi Ltd. has begun cutting about 10% of its North American job force as part of a cost-reducing restructuring initiative.
- More specifically, the layoffs include fewer than 80 jobs out of 600 based throughout the continent, mainly in the sales and field marketing divisions but also in areas like IT, communications, marketing, and finance.
- Less than six months after Mike Dolan officially became CEO, a restructuring initiative began.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. spirits market has seen mixed sales, which may have in part led to some of these cost-cutting measures. U.S. sales volumes for rum took a 1.5% hit, and blended Scotch tumbled 3% as well. On the other end of the spectrum, vodka sales volumes increased slightly by 1.6%, and bourbon and Tennessee whiskey volumes jumped 7%. Bacardi has an approximate 9% share of the U.S. spirits market.