Pepsi to cut 3,300 jobs

PepsiCo announced plans Tuesday to cut 3,300 jobs as it reported a 10 percent decline in third-quarter net income.

PepsiCo, a beverage and food company based in Purchase, N.Y., posted third-quarter net income of $1.58 billion, compared to $1.74 billion in the same period a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, earnings per share were $1.06 for the quarter. Analysts had expected PepsiCo to make $1.08 per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Revenues rose 11 percent to $11.24 billion in the third quarter.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo’s chief rival, will report third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

PepsiCo’s international snack-food business rose 4 percent and international beverage volume was up 11 percent.

The company, though, struggled in North America. Beverage volume was down 2.5 percent. Frito-Lay North America volume was up slightly, but Quaker Foods North America volume was down 9 percent. A major Quaker plant in Iowa was affected by July floods.

“In the third quarter, our worldwide snacks and international beverage businesses performed well once again,” PepsiCo Chairwoman and CEO Indra Nooyi said in a press statement. “We had solid top- and bottom-line results in the face of a challenging macro environment and the most difficult quarterly comparisons on commodity cost inputs.

“We were adversely impacted by continued weakness in the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage category, which resulted in disappointing performance in our domestic beverage business,” Nooyi said. “We are taking important steps to revitalize our beverage portfolio.”

PepsiCo will pursue a productivity plan aimed at delivering $1.2 billion in savings over the next three years, Nooyi said. The program, which will be outlined in more detail by the end of the year, includes cutting 3,300 jobs, or about 1.8 percent of is workforce, and closing up to six plants. The company employs about 185,000 worldwide.