Anheuser-Busch InBev, the company that owns Budweiser, is laying off about 350 corporate employees as the company deals with slumping sales of Bud Light in light of a continued conservative boycott after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In a statement, Anheuser-Busch said it is eliminating close to 2% of workers “across every corporate function,” representing about 380 of AB InBev’s roughly 19,000 employees. The company didn’t give a timeline for when the layoffs will begin. Said Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whiteworth: “While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success. These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone.”
In April, the company designed a marketing campaign with social media star and trans rights activist Dylan Mulvaney. The promotion with Mulvaney entailed an Instagram post by the social media influencer, in which she revealed a commemorative Bud Light can with her face on it, celebrating her “365 days of girlhood” series on her transition. The post sparked an outcry from some conservatives, who called for a boycott of the popular beer.
As a result of the backlash, Bud Light lost its longtime ranking in May as the nation’s best-selling beer. In the month ending July 15, Bud Light’s U.S. sales were down 26.5%, while Modelo’s were up 13.5%. Bud Light held a 6.8% share of the U.S. beer market in that period, while Modelo held an 8.7% share. AB InBev sold $71.5 million worth of Bud Light during the week ending July 16, compared with Modelo Especial which generated $90.3 million in sales that same week.
The company said the layoffs will target about 2% of its corporate staff and wouldn’t affect workers in the breweries, employees such as truck drivers or salespeople in the field, or warehouse staff.
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