Fake Meat Company 'Beyond Meat' Announces Mass Layoffs, Departure of 3 Executives
Plant-based meat-substitute manufacturer Beyond Meat has announced a new round of layoffs in the wake of declining sales, according to news reports.
Several top executives have also left the company, including Chief Operating Officer Doug Ramsey, who was suspended in September after reportedly biting a man’s nose and threatening that he would kill him.
The new cuts come only two months after the company laid off about 40 of its 1,100 workers in August, Bloomberg reported. The news outlet added it is “unclear” how many people will be let go in this new round of layoffs.
“The onetime Wall Street darling faces mounting challenges as rising inflation drives consumers toward less-expensive animal proteins and competition intensifies,” Bloomberg reported.
“Major fast-food partnerships have failed to gain traction, and the company has struggled to ramp up production.”
The most notable executive to leave the company was Ramsey, who was suspended in September after he was arrested for allegedly biting a man’s nose after a college football game in Arkansas, CNBC News reported.
Ramsey reportedly assaulted a driver in a parking garage in Fayetville, Arkansas, after the driver hit the front tire of Ramsey’s car.
Ramsey then allegedly punched through the back windshield of the other driver’s Subaru, punched and bit the driver, “ripping the flesh on the tip of the nose,” and threatened to kill him, according to what the victim and a witness told the police, CNBC reported.
Beyond Meat then announced Ramsey was leaving the company as of Oct. 14, according to a regulatory filing from the company.
Along with Ramsey, the company also announced that the vice president of its financial planning and analysis of investor relations, Lubi Kutua, would be taking over as the chief financial officer, the Wall Street Journal reported.
This comes after Philip Hardin’s step down from the role, the regulatory filing revealed.
The company is also eliminating the position held by Deanne Jurgens, the global chief growth officer and president of North America, the Journal reported.
The layoffs and firings are part of Beyond Meat’s plan to cut costs by reducing its total employment by about 20 percent, the Journal added.
The company announced that it is hoping that planned cutbacks will save about $39 million in operational costs.
However, even with these measures taken, the company is still fighting falling stock prices.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Beyond Meat’s stock fell about 4.8 percent on Friday morning.
Overall, Bloomberg reported that meat alternative products have been struggling in the market.
In the 12 months since October 2021, the sales of refrigerated meat alternatives plummeted about 11 percent, Bloomberg reported.
“Beyond Meat-branded sausage substitutes fell 19% in the period, while the company’s plant-based patties dropped 27%,” Bloomberg added.
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