PepsiCo Inc. will lay off 8,700 workers in 30 countries, 3 percent of its workforce worldwide, as part of an effort to save $1.5 billion dollars by 2014.
The announcement came as part of the company”™s fourth quarter and full-year 2011 earnings report. Headquartered in Purchase, PepsiCo did not specify how many workers, if any, would be laid off in Westchester County.
The company also said it would spend $500 million to $600 million more on advertising and marketing this year, with a focus on North America. PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi called 2012 a “transition year, in which we will be taking the appropriate steps to build a stronger, more successful company going forward.”
PepsiCo said it would cut capital expenditures by 10 percent in 2012. It said it would raise its dividend 4 percent this year beginning in June and buy back at least $3 billion in stock.
For 2012, Pepsico said it expects a 5 percent drop in earnings per share from the $4.40 it reported for 2011. It cited an expected increase in commodity prices and higher pension costs. The company also said it expects charges of $425 million this year for severance costs associated with job cuts.
As for its earnings, Pepsico said sales of snacks were up 8 percent for the quarter and the year. Beverage sales were up 3 percent for the quarter and 5 percent for the year.
Earnings rose 4 percent for the quarter to $1.4 billion and 2 percent for the year to $6.4 billion. What the company called its core earnings per share rose 9 percent to $1.15 in the quarter and 7 percent to $4.40 per share for the year.
