Heineken cutting up to 6,000 jobs as it blames weak demand
The announcement comes amid a major head office departure
Heinken is set to axe up to 6,000 jobs across ‘all levels’ of the company’s global workforce amid confirmation that the demand for beer has declined.
A two-year restructuring is about to commence at the Dutch-based business, with global headcount being reduced to unlock savings, ‘strengthen operations’, and allow growth investments to be made, finance chief Harold van den Broek said via Reuters.
It’s understood that some of the proposed 5,000 to 6,000 job cuts would occur in Europe via brewery closures.
Non-priority markets, deemed to ‘offer fewer growth prospects’, are also likely to be affected by the upcoming cull.
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Plans are also in place for smaller markets to be merged into ‘clusters’. It’s understood that this would further eliminate costs, as per reports.
The drinks manufacturers’ back office operations will be further centralised, van den Broek confirmed, the Financial Times said.
Of the job cuts, the financial expert said that ‘all levels of the organisation’ will be touched.
He added that he believed artificial intelligence (AI) would play a role in scaling up the company’s shared services.
The decision to streamline Heineken’s workforce comes after the business reported a 1.2 percent decline in beer volumes last year compared with 2024.
Sales of beer in Europe and the Americas also fell from 3.4 and 2.8 per cent, respectively.
However, growth did emerge in markets such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Vietnam and India, which contributed to its revenue rising by 1.6 per cent to €28.9 billion (£24.1nb).
Despite sharing a better-than-expected profit growth of 4.4 percent in 2025, these figures have led to the firm forecasting lower profit margins for 2026
Profits are now expected to grow two to six percent in 2026, compared to the four to eight percent range it had previously listed.
Analysts at Bernstein described the updated margins as ‘prudent, given the massive cost-cuts that are underway’, as per The Grocer.
However, Jefferies analyst Ed Mundy has said that the revised guidance could be viewed as ‘slightly disappointing’ and ‘relatively conservative’.
He added that there may be little ‘incentive to set a high guide’ due to the upcoming departure of chief executive Dolf van den Brink.
The 53-year-old’s leave was announced in January and was described as the ‘right moment’ for him to ‘take a personal and professional reset’.
Van Den Brink, who will leave Heineken after almost six years in May, added: “But surely I will miss this industry.”
Jonny Forsyth, principal strategist at Mintel Food & Drink said in January that he believed the company would continue to struggle unless it could ‘revive the fortunes of its flagship alcoholic beer brand’.
He said the company had to invest more in advertising, as per the BBC, adding: "Currently, Heineken lacks a clear premium identity, in contrast to a brand like Guinness which has carved out a distinctive and aspirational positioning.”
Heineken, which was founded in the Netherlands over 150 years ago, owns major brands including its namesake, Desperados, Tiger, Strongbow, and Red Stripe.
Ella Scott