#costcutting

I am confused on how and why they are laying off employees when teams are bloated with managers that have only 4 direct reports. If they are gonna lose employees who will they manage? Shouldn't they cut costs by cutting middle managers first? Clearly they (mid managers) are unnecessary and cost the company more money pretending to be useful. And honestly, some of these awful managers are costing the company with unethical actions and behaviors leading to employee lawsuits.

Nothing says “strategic cost management” quite like laying off people who actually deliver while protecting layers of management that should never have existed in the first place.

Software sourcing at Kyndryl is a great example: bring in a director to manage another director who is already managing sourcing/procurement. Two Band 10 directors for a relatively small function. Brilliant organizational efficiency.

Maybe the problem isn’t that there are too many workers. Maybe the problem is that there are too many chiefs managing other chiefs.

And somehow, when it’s time to cut costs, the axe always seems to fall several layers below where the expensive redundancy actually sits.

Microsoft offers buyouts to around 60,000 employees to contain costs

Like other tech giants, Microsoft is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI data centers and chips.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/corporations/microsoft-offers-buyouts-60000-employees-rcna605765

Microsoft offers buyouts to 60,000 workers as it looks to trim costs https://share.google/PO8CRKfWPG4Wzozhr

Verizon has continued its year-long restructuring efforts by filing multiple WARN notices, resulting in nearly 5,700 job cuts since January. These reductions have been implemented through a series of smaller, ongoing layoffs rather than a single large announcement. The company's CEO initiated a significant restructuring plan last year aimed at reducing operating expenses. While these cuts have improved financial metrics, subscriber growth remains a challenge. The ongoing nature of these workforce adjustments suggests the restructuring is still in progress.

New York, NY

https://startupfortune.com/verizon-keeps-cutting-jobs-a-year-into-dan-schulmans-turnaround-plan/

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees globally. This move is part of a broader strategy to reduce costs and adapt its workforce for the growing field of artificial intelligence. The program is available to eligible employees in the US, Canada, India, and the UK. These individuals are at the vice president level and below. The company aims to streamline operations and refocus its talent pool.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-26/microsoft-to-offer-buyouts-to-60-000-workers-in-latest-cost-cut

Rural hospitals are increasingly resorting to staff reductions and service erosion instead of outright closures. This trend means that while fewer facilities are shutting down, the remaining ones are often diminishing their offerings. This shift impacts rural communities by forcing residents to travel further for essential medical care. Experts note that this consolidation and service reduction is a new manifestation of financial distress for these hospitals. The number of rural hospitals at risk of closure remains significantly high.

https://www.medicaldaily.com/rural-hospital-layoffs-2026-closures-slow-access-risk-480387

When you say you don't expect the majority of savings figure to come from staff reductions - We know you still mean 49% vs 51%. - We aren't stupid.

Also, F u-k you!

Here's the article in 6 bullets:

• More layoffs: Volvo Cars will cut about 2,500 more jobs, roughly 6% of its global workforce, with 2,000 of them in Sweden. This follows 3,000 cuts earlier in the year, and the reductions should be finished by mid-2027.
• Savings goal: The company is aiming for around $500 million in savings as it faces stiff competition, softer demand, tariff headwinds and squeezed profitability.
• Weak results: Volvo's third quarter disappointed, with operating losses growing and cash burn doubling from a year earlier. Its shares dropped about 24% to a record low.
• China pressure: CEO Hakan Samuelsson said Chinese buyers are increasingly choosing domestic brands, so Volvo (owned by China's Geely) plans a more regional strategy with greater local autonomy and China-specific models. He noted that weak US and Chinese performance means about half the business isn't contributing to profit.
• Turnaround measures: Volvo will slim down its central administration, work more closely with Geely on software like infotainment and driver assistance, and launch 13 new models by 2030, including three next year (two built for China). Further cuts haven't been ruled out.
• Industry-wide slump: The restructuring reflects a broader auto downturn, with BMW weighing management cuts and Volkswagen approving another 50,000 job reductions.

https://www.ndtvprofit.com/business/volvo-plans-2-500-more-job-cuts-after-3-000-layoffs-targets-500-million-savings-12230852

Network VP broke down capitalized labor recently. They didn’t specifically say capitalized labor is favored to keep in layoffs but hinted at it very strongly. Make sure to fill out your cap labor study saying you have more Development tasks. This allows us to capitalize more labor which equates to less OpEx.

Safeway will close its Richmond, California bakery manufacturing facility by year-end. This closure will result in the loss of 92 positions. The decision stems from parent company Albertsons' review of its business and cost structure. Albertsons is implementing a cost reduction strategy to address economic pressures. The plant has been operational since 1965.

Richmond, California

https://whatnow.com/san-francisco/local-news/a-long-running-bay-area-bakery-plant-is-set-to-close-92-layoffs-expected/

Just noticed that health benefit got much more expensive and way worse this year, especially the CDHP and select? Is this a way to push people out?

On our Home Lending Underwriting town hall as we go over a business update. Pretty clear signs that consumer underwriting is heavily over staffed. Cost per loan is up, utilization is down, fundings per Uw is down, and market forecasts flat to down in the next 3 years.

Tell me layoffs are coming without directly saying it

Several biotechnology companies have recently announced substantial layoffs as part of strategic realignments and cost-saving measures. Enlivex is cutting 60% of its staff, while EyePoint is halving its workforce. Caribou Biosciences is halting pipeline development and laying off employees to seek strategic alternatives. Adecto Pharmaceuticals is shutting down operations entirely due to funding challenges. Foghorn Therapeutics is also reducing its workforce by 40% following a failed collaboration.

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/fierce-biotech-layoff-tracker-2026

First, transformative initiative is a wild a-s way to refer to layoffs.

Second, why aren’t they trimming the fat at the top? Do shareholders really want the value of their holdings being consumed by two executive pay and benefits packages? Losing one of them would probably save more than the entire “transformative initiative” and easily save hundreds of jobs.

How do we go from record profits to massive layoffs and mandatory FT RTO?
Seems the cost and usage to heat, light, etc is greater than it was when we had hybrid. Am I wrong? And how did hybrid be so scorned even with blow out profits?
It isn’t computing…what’s the rationale? Really, it seems illogical to me. Not being snippy I really don’t think this makes sense on any level.

Three things from OpenText World.

1. The people running product and tech have no engineering background.

Shannon Bell is the new Chief Product & Technology Officer. Her resume is product management at Amdocs, IT at Rogers, then CIO at OpenText. No engineering org, no R&D org, ever. The guy before her, Savinay Berry, actually ran product and engineering at Vonage.

Same story with the new hires. Anupam Khazanchi, the new CIO, came from Rogers IT. Lise Lefaive got bumped to SVP from running a PMO. IT delivery people, not software people.

Compare that to anyone else. SAP's CTO has a PhD in computer science. ServiceNow's Chief Product Officer did 24 years of product development at Oracle. Workday's product and tech president started as a developer.

Every engineer, intern, or internal transfer at OpenText has to prove the skills in an interview before they get the job. Apparently that rule stops at the executive floor. Terrible.

1. They're cutting R&D while promising more AI.

Keynote: agentic AI, a Global Command Center, an AI-first platform. 10-K: R&D spend down 14% in a year ($756M to $648M), last quarter down 20%, EBITDA margin up to 36%.

Two cost programs at the same time. "OpenText Trusts OpenText" wants $1.5B in savings. The Business Optimization Plan is cutting around 2,000 roles, about 1,280 of them this year. Next year's "growth investment" is $100–200M and the only specific line item is sales hiring. Zero number for engineers.

You can't keep cutting the people who build the product and still promise a new platform.

Shannon Bell made her name as CIO by cutting costs with the "OpenText Trusts OpenText" program. That was the right job then. It's the wrong job now. As CPTO her job is to fight for R&D budget, not keep bragging about savings. If she's still on stage talking about $1.5B in cuts instead of what she's spending on engineers, she hasn't made the switch. She's running the product org the way she ran IT: as a cost center.

1. The future is dimmer than the keynote.

Execs with no engineering background, a shrinking R&D budget, and a growth plan that's basically hiring salespeople. That's not an AI strategy. That's a cost-cutting plan with an AI sticker on it. Until someone senior owns R&D investment with an actual number, the AI targets are just slides.

Last year OpenText cut 1,091 R&D heads and 19 in sales and marketing. The plan isn't finished. More layoffs are coming.

So who's responsible for engineering investment, and how much is it?

The decision to name Karen Deutsch CMO of UHC definitely affirms the organization doesn't value Employee Experience feedback at all. To call her a bully would be kind to bullies. That aside the moves she will be making are not great. For starters, she needs to reduce costs by 25%+. Some of that will come from closing or not posting open roles. Some of that will come from "accelerating the use of AI". Some of that will come from collapsing teams and functions and reducing redundancies. Some of it will come from reducing marketing spend. The next 8 weeks are going to be messy for all of you. And for those in marketing roles not in UHC, good luck. The versions of plans she has are far reaching and speak to her ego and ambition. Normally you might entertain changing roles and moving to Optum. While Optum doesn't have a Karen problem they do have their own large cost targets and will not be in a position to open or add roles.

Albertsons is suing Kroger for $8 billion after their merger collapsed. Albertsons alleges Kroger did not fulfill its contractual obligations to secure regulatory approval. Kroger claims it acted in good faith throughout the process. Both companies are also implementing cost-cutting measures, including layoffs. Albertsons plans a comprehensive business review to improve performance.

Boise, ID

https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/albertsons-heads-to-court-seeking-usd-8-billion-from-kroger-after-failed-merger-both-chains-plan-layoffs

October 22 is Comcast’s earnings call. Let’s see if we can successfully tank the stock again by unveiling our most imaginative strategy yet: continuing to reduce costs.

At some point, “spend less” needs a companion called “give customers a reason to stay.”

The BBC is implementing significant cost-cutting measures, targeting £500 million in savings over three years. As part of this restructuring, BBC Three, BBC Scotland, and Radio 4 Extra will cease to exist as linear television channels. These channels will transition to the iPlayer streaming service to reach audiences. Additionally, BBC News will experience 100 job losses as part of broader reductions across the organization. These changes reflect a strategic shift towards digital platforms and a response to financial pressures.

London, England

https://bleedingcool.com/tv/doctor-who-tender-news-bbc-three-closing-bbc-news-layoffs-more/

Many companies are reducing staff in anticipation of AI automation, but this strategy carries significant risks. Gartner predicts that a substantial portion of employees let go due to AI will need to be rehired. This is because the actual productivity gains from AI may not fully replace human capabilities, leading to unexpected costs. Executives must carefully assess AI's true impact before making staffing decisions. Failing to do so could result in a costly cycle of layoffs and rehiring.

October 19, 2026

https://www.okoone.com/spark/leadership-management/ai-driven-job-cuts-could-lead-to-costly-rehiring/

You know where you rank, regular OT folks. The company needs to save money, cut back (WFRs) on costs, but then we're slapped in the face with this big to-do in Orlando.

Make it make sense. Forcing many Directors and GPO’s to travel to India early 2027 to meet with the rebadged teams now reporting to Accenture. What a waste of money and time when the stock has fallen each year. Not senior executives meeting with key Accenture personnel to discuss planning, execution or personnel changes but regular Directors meeting with teams that do not report or indirectly report to them. Good job FIS!

What are the determining factors?

Regarding US employees, as we approach financial insolvency, at what point does management look at reducing severence payouts in order to further cut expenses?

Obviously, once in Chapter 11, all severance bets are off. But how bad do things have to get before payouts start to get cut?

Recent corporate restructuring at Paramount has led to significant anchor turnover on CBS Saturday Morning. This has resulted in the departure of long-serving hosts, including Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson, who were cut in late 2025. These changes are attributed to cost-saving measures rather than individual performance issues. The program has seen three anchor shake-ups since 2019, driven by these financial decisions. New hosts Adriana Diaz and Kelly O'Grady debuted in early 2026.

New York, NY

https://www.tuko.co.ke/entertainment/celebrities/643366-all-cbs-saturday-morning-anchors-fired-replaced-them/

No other biz in the world has as much Indirect / Overhead costs as the GSEs. If Trump & Pulte are targeting 15%, plenty of more fat to trim.

Oracle’s AI bet may hinge on two numbers investors aren’t focusing on enough: OCI margin and how much cost Oracle can strip out of the legacy business. Interest alone is running about $5.7B a year, but the ~21,000-person workforce reduction could potentially free up several billion annually to help service that debt—if OCI margins can get into the 25–30%+ range, the AI buildout looks far more manageable; below ~20%, the leverage starts to look uncomfortable.

Wider credit default swaps will increase future borrowing costs so head count reductions will continue. Failure to deliver data centers will put further strain on OCIs margins and we will sink further in debt.

The only way out is a bailout or buyout unless Clay can stop Laughing and get margin way up in OCI

• Remove corporate cell phones and force on-call employees to pay for cell service and phone.
• Move all positions to Canada/India etc to get cheaper labor, lower salary and medical costs
• Ensure that no employee has a long tenure to limit severance (mainly in Canada)

Some of these already seem to be in progress - list out others that you might think are plausible

PEPSICO LAYOFF OUTLOOK — NEXT 12 MONTHS (Oct 2026 – Oct 2027) Prepared Oct 16, 2026. Public sources only. Sources numbered in brackets; full links at bottom.
BOTTOM LINE
A meaningful round of PepsiCo workforce reductions is very likely before the Q4 2026 earnings release in early February 2027, with a second wave tied to the North America integration/refranchising decision. The company has said so in plain language, has already booked the charges, and has a two-year pattern of executing exactly this playbook. The open questions are scale and mix (corporate vs. frontline), not whether.
WHAT PEPSICO HAS SAID PUBLICLY (the hard evidence)
Q3 2026 earnings, Oct 8, 2026:
Laguarta said additional structural cost reduction actions are being identified and will be implemented in the coming months to help fund growth investments and mitigate rising input cost inflation. [1]
On the call: "We are cutting costs in many areas of the business, including corporate unallocated, including overhead costs everywhere." [2]
Laguarta said urgency means looking at every cost with aggressive lenses, and that anything not related to growth will not be part of the company. [3]
He also said the team is accelerating tactics on the integration side where cost can be eliminated. [3]
Laguarta described the cuts as structural cost reduction actions that reduce redundancies and curtail discretionary expenditures. [4]
The company is evaluating structural options for North America, including potentially expanding refranchising of bottling operations in certain regions. [3]
CFO Steve Schmitt said the domestic turnaround is moving more slowly than expected [5]; the stock had touched a more-than-six-year low that week. [6]
The restructuring charges are already in the filings:
The 2019 Productivity Plan was expanded and extended through 2030 with expected pre-tax charges of about $6.15 billion. Plan-to-date through Sept 5, 2026, PepsiCo has incurred $4.0 billion. For the remainder of 2026 it expects roughly $500 million of pre-tax charges, with the majority of remaining charges incurred through 2027. Charges include severance and other employee costs, asset impairments and other costs. [7]
Context: Q3 2026 charges were $185 million. A ~$500 million Q4 would be the largest single-quarter charge in the program, and it is scheduled for the next ten weeks. [7]
The plan's pre-tax charges are expected to be roughly 50% severance and other employee-related costs, 10% asset impairments from plant closures, and 40% other implementation costs. [8]
Headcount is already shrinking:
PepsiCo employed approximately 306,000 people worldwide as of Dec 27, 2025, including about 125,000 in the U.S. [9] versus approximately 319,000 worldwide and 134,000 in the U.S. as of Dec 28, 2024. [10] That is roughly -13,000 global / -9,000 U.S. in one year, before any 2026 actions.
The Elliott-driven plan (Dec 2025) set the frame:
The plan included aggressive expense reductions, plant closures, SKU rationalization and reportedly job cuts tied to operational streamlining; three plants had already been closed, several lines shut, and nearly 20% of U.S. SKUs slated for elimination by early 2026, with at least 100 basis points of margin expansion targeted over three years. [11]
On the North America supply chain and go-to-market initiatives, PepsiCo said it is evaluating an integrated model with a nuanced, state-level approach based on ROI, scale and share, with an update to be provided late in 2026. [12]
Jennifer Wells, Chief People Officer for North America, told employees that structural changes would affect some roles in the company, per Bloomberg. [13]
Bloomberg reported PepsiCo instructed staff in Purchase, Chicago and Plano to work remotely that week, and that executives had already used the phrase "rightsizing the workforce" before Elliott's engagement. [14]
THE 2025–2026 TRACK RECORD (what "structural cost reduction" has looked like in practice)
Feb 2025: Liberty, NY (PopCorners) plant closed, 287 laid off. [15]
Jun 2025: Rancho Cucamonga, CA Frito-Lay manufacturing shut after 50+ years, 432–480 positions eliminated. [16]
Nov 2025: Two Frito-Lay facilities in Orlando closed, 500 positions terminated (454 at the plant/onsite warehouse Nov 4; 46 at an offsite warehouse by May 9, 2026). [17]
Dec 2025: Corporate cuts in Purchase/Chicago/Plano reported by WSJ and Bloomberg alongside the Elliott settlement (company did not disclose a number). [13][14]
Jan 2026: Spain — about 400 workers at risk as PepsiCo moves from direct sales to distributors across 11 sites, following 250 cuts the prior year. [18] Job cuts were also announced in Cork, Ireland in December 2025. [19]
Feb 2026: Rancho Cucamonga warehouse closure, 247–248 laid off, WARN filed Feb 10. [20]
Aug 2026: Columbia, SC — PepsiCo Beverages Sales LLC listed 105 permanent layoffs with last day Oct 18, citing a shift in how warehouse logistics are managed; site stays open. [21]
Sep 2026: Cheverly, MD bottling plant — manufacturing and warehouse ended, 143 laid off (98 union), citing changes in consumer demand, technology and operating network; sales and delivery continue. [22]
Pattern: foods closures first (2025), then beverage manufacturing/warehouse consolidation (2026), with sales/delivery protected so far. International DSD-to-distributor conversions run in parallel.
BECKY SCHMITT — HISTORY RELEVANT TO WORKFORCE ACTIONS
(Note: PepsiCo has two senior "Schmitts." Becky Schmitt is EVP & Chief People Officer. Steve Schmitt is EVP & CFO, ex-Walmart U.S. CFO, appointed Nov 2025. They are unrelated roles; press coverage frequently conflates them.)
Becky Schmitt has been EVP and Chief People Officer since June 2023. Before that she was EVP, Chief People Officer of Cognizant, and held HR executive roles at Walmart including SVP, Chief People Officer of Sam's Club (2018–2020). [9] She was CPO of U.S. eCommerce and corporate functions from late 2016 to 2018, and VP HR-Technology in 2016; before Walmart she spent over 20 years at Accenture. [23]
Walmart period (2016–2020):
Walmart ran repeated corporate layoff rounds in 2017: about 1,000 workers before Jan 31 (511 at Bentonville HQ, 174 in California), then roughly 300 more in its information systems division in April. [24] The WSJ reported many eliminations would hit HR, which some executives felt could be outsourced. [25]
Jan 2018: Walmart cut 400–500 HQ jobs across marketing, HR, merchandising, real estate, logistics and finance. [26]
Jan 11, 2018: Walmart announced 63 Sam's Club closures; some employees learned via a company-wide email, and some stores had already liquidated without notifying staff. [27] At ~175 associates per club, that implied more than 11,000 employees affected, about 10% of Sam's workforce. [28] Schmitt became Sam's Club CPO in 2018; public records do not establish whether she was in the role on the day of the closures, so treat her involvement as unverified.
Cognizant period (Feb 2020 – May 2023):
She was hired as Cognizant's CPO effective Feb 1, 2020, shortly after Cognizant announced in November 2019 it would remove 10,000–12,000 mid-to-senior staff from their roles, with 5,000–7,000 losing their jobs. [29]
She oversaw HR during a period when Cognizant's attrition exceeded 30% in 2021–2022; an analyst read her 2023 exit as part of the new CEO's push to improve leadership quality and reduce bloated costs. [30]
PepsiCo period (2023–present):
The Dec 2025 corporate cuts, the 2026 plant/warehouse closures, and the ~13,000 headcount decline in FY2025 all occurred under her People function. [9][10][13][22]
Public positioning is AI-and-skills, not cuts: she has described using AI for dynamic route engineering and factory digital twins and preparing 300,000 employees for a skills-based future [31]; in May 2026 she said PepsiCo gave 5,000 employees a week to do nothing but learn AI [32]; she emphasized standard processes and common data sets so that jobs are translatable across countries and the technology can move. [33] She has also said "You have to redesign jobs." [34]
Read-through: her career has run through three employers that executed large, repeated structural cuts (Walmart corporate/Sam's, Cognizant, PepsiCo). Her public language — standardization, translatable roles, job redesign, automation — is the vocabulary of shared-services consolidation. That is consistent with corporate/back-office reductions rather than frontline sales.
PREDICTIONS — NEXT 12 MONTHS (inference from the above)
A. Corporate/overhead reduction announced between now and Feb 3, 2027 (Q4 earnings). Likelihood: high.
Why: "coming months" language on Oct 8 [1]; ~$500M of charges budgeted for Q4 2026 alone [7]; explicit targeting of "corporate unallocated" and "overheads everywhere" [2]; pattern of Dec 2025 cuts timed to the investor update [14].
Likely scope: hundreds to low thousands of salaried roles across Purchase, Plano, Chicago and regional offices, concentrated in finance, HR, marketing support, IT and duplicated PBNA/PFNA functions. Watch for a work-from-home instruction at HQ as the tell.
Timing tell: December is the recurring window (2022 WSJ-reported cuts and Dec 2025 cuts both preceded year-end/guidance events). [13][14]
B. North America integration decision ("late 2026" update) triggers a field-level wave in H1 2027. Likelihood: high for the update, medium-high for a large associated reduction.
Why: PepsiCo committed to an update on the integrated supply chain/go-to-market model late in 2026 [12]; Laguarta cited accelerating integration tactics to eliminate cost [3]. Integrating foods and beverages warehousing, transport and back office is where the real duplication sits.
Who: warehouse, fleet, transport, planning, and regional admin. The Columbia and Cheverly actions are the template — "shifting how warehouse logistics are managed," sales and delivery preserved. [21][22]
C. More beverage manufacturing/warehouse closures in company-owned territories. Likelihood: high.
Why: 20% SKU cut reduces line requirements [11]; Cheverly cited "operating network" evolution [22]; CSD volume down 2% in Q3 [5]. Expect 2–5 additional WARN-sized actions (100–500 each) over 12 months.
D. Refranchising "in certain regions" moves from evaluation to action in 2027. Likelihood: medium.
Why: now on the table in management's own words [3], after a full refranchising was ruled out in Dec 2025 [12]. If executed, company headcount transfers to bottlers rather than being cut outright, but the corporate and overhead layer supporting those territories goes away. For independent bottlers, this is the one to watch — it changes territory maps and could expand or compress who services adjacent markets.
E. International DSD-to-distributor conversions continue (Spain-style). Likelihood: high, but modest U.S. relevance.
F. What would reduce the scale: a real NA volume recovery in Q4/Q1, commodity relief as hedges reset, or Elliott taking a victory lap and backing off. None are visible yet — analysts cut targets after the print and one analyst flagged a lack of transparency on what went wrong in North America and what changes management intends to make. [35] Jefferies called 2027 the key year for measuring returns. [36]
Rough sizing (inference, not a reported figure): another low-single-digit-percent global headcount decline in FY2026 and FY2027 each, i.e., on the order of 5,000–12,000 per year, heavier in the U.S., delivered through a mix of closures, attrition, and salaried cuts. The 2025 result (-13,000) is the anchor.
DATES TO WATCH
Nov–Dec 2026: late-2026 NA integration update; any HQ work-from-home instruction; state WARN filings (60-day notice).
Feb 3, 2027 (approx.): Q4 2026 earnings and 2027 guidance — formal productivity targets and charge estimates for 2027.
Apr 2027: Q1 2027 earnings — first read on whether cuts are funding volume recovery or just protecting EPS.
Form 10-K (Feb 2027): FY2026 year-end headcount vs. 306,000.
Gap to note: no outlet has published a hard number for the December 2025 corporate cuts, and PepsiCo has not disclosed one. The Q4 10-K's year-end headcount in February is the first reliable public datapoint on scale.
SOURCES [1] PepsiCo Q3 2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1), Oct 8, 2026 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000077476/000007747626000050/q320268-kxexhibit991.htm [2] Q3 2026 earnings call transcript — https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/pep/transcripts/706870-q3-2026/ [3] Q3 2026 earnings call transcript, The Motley Fool — https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/10/08/pepsico-pep-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript/ [4] "PepsiCo to cut costs after lowering earnings outlook," Just Food via Yahoo Finance, Oct 8, 2026 — https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pepsico-cut-costs-lowering-earnings-141448167.html [5] "PepsiCo cuts full-year profit forecast in Q3 2026 earnings," Yahoo Finance, Oct 8, 2026 — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/pepsico-cuts-full-profit-forecast-111635656.html [6] Reuters via MarketScreener, Oct 8, 2026 — https://www.marketscreener.com/news/pepsico-to-cut-costs-as-weak-n-america-business-hurts-annual-core-profit-forecast-ce785dded08df721 [7] PepsiCo Form 10-Q for period ended Sept 5, 2026 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000077476/000007747626000048/pep-20260905.htm [8] PepsiCo Form 10-Q for period ended Sept 6, 2025 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/77476/000007747625000053/pep-20250906.htm [9] PepsiCo Form 10-K FY2025 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/77476/000007747626000007/pep-20251227.htm [10] PepsiCo 8-K (recast FY2024 disclosures), July 2025 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/77476/000007747625000042/pep-20250717_d2.htm [11] "PepsiCo Strikes Deal With Elliott, Unveils 2026 Cost Cuts And Plant Closures," RTTNews/Nasdaq, Dec 2025 — https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/pepsico-strikes-deal-elliott-unveils-2026-cost-cuts-and-plant-closures [12] "PepsiCo sets out agenda after crunch investor talks," Just Food via Yahoo Finance, Dec 2025 — https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pepsico-sets-agenda-crunch-investor-122906349.html [13] "PepsiCo Layoffs Are on the Way…," HR Digest, Dec 2025 — https://www.thehrdigest.com/pepsico-layoffs-are-on-the-way-as-the-company-explores-a-major-overhaul/ [14] "PepsiCo Plans Layoffs as It Looks to Finish Elliott Talks," Bloomberg via Transport Topics, Dec 2025 — https://www.ttnews.com/article/pepsi-supply-chains-elliott [15] "PepsiCo Is Closing Frito-Lay Factories in 2026," AOL — https://www.aol.com/articles/pepsico-closing-frito-lay-factories-104900712.html [16] "PepsiCo closes multiple Frito-Lay plants across US," Food Ingredients First, Nov 2025 — https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/pepsico-closes-frito-lay-plants-us.html [17] "PepsiCo to shutter 2 Frito-Lay facilities in Florida, lay off 500 workers," Food Dive via Yahoo, Nov 7, 2025 — https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pepsico-shutter-2-frito-lay-100000405.html [18] "PepsiCo jobs in Spain at risk," Just Drinks, Jan 29, 2026 — https://www.just-drinks.com/newsletters/pepsico-jobs-in-spain-at-risk [19] "PepsiCo cuts jobs at US bottling plant," Just Food via Yahoo, Sep 2026 — https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/pepsico-cuts-jobs-us-bottling-120204056.html [20] "Frito-Lay to close San Bernardino County warehouse, lay off 247 employees," LA Times via Yahoo, Feb 2026 — https://finance.yahoo.com/news/frito-lay-close-san-bernardino-200244391.html [21] "Over 100 PepsiCo employees in Columbia facing permanent layoffs," WIS-TV, Aug 20, 2026 — https://www.wistv.com/2026/08/20/over-100-pepsico-employees-columbia-facing-permanent-layoffs-documents-show/ [22] "PepsiCo to end manufacturing operations at Maryland bottling plant," Food Dive, Sep 16, 2026 — https://www.fooddive.com/news/pepsico-layoffs-maryland-bottling-plant-manufacturing-operations/830548/ [23] PepsiCo 2023 Annual Report (ARS) — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/77476/000130817924000261/pep4309521-ars.pdf [24] "For 2nd time this year, Wal-Mart cuts workers," NWA Democrat-Gazette, Apr 6, 2017 — https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2017/apr/06/for-2nd-time-this-year-wal-mart-cuts-wo/ [25] "Wal-Mart Plans to Cut Hundreds of Jobs by January End," Reuters via Fox Business, Jan 2017 — https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/wal-mart-plans-to-cut-hundreds-of-jobs-by-january-end [26] "Report: Walmart cutting 500 jobs," Chain Store Age, Jan 25, 2018 — https://chainstoreage.com/finance-0/report-walmart-cutting-500-jobs [27] Sam's Club, Wikipedia (Jan 2018 closures) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sams_Club [28] "Walmart Shutters Dozens Of Sam's Club Stores," Bisnow, Jan 2018 — https://www.bisnow.com/news/national/retail/sams-club-shutters-stores-around-the-country-83593 [29] "Cognizant hires Becky Schmitt as new chief people officer," Consulting.us, Dec 2019 — https://www.consulting.us/news/3503/cognizant-hires-becky-schmitt-as-new-chief-people-officer [30] "Cognizant CPO Becky Schmitt resigns," HRKatha, Apr 2023 — https://www.hrkatha.com/hiring-firing/cognizant-cpo-becky-schmitt-resigns/ [31] Becky Schmitt LinkedIn profile/activity — https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaaschmitt/ [32] "PepsiCo CPO says their 'secret sauce'…," Fortune, May 25, 2026 — https://fortune.com/2026/05/25/pepsico-cpo-becky-schmitt-secret-sauce-hiring-top-talent-all-hustle-agile-curious-ai-era/ [33] "Indeed chief economist says execs are 'overestimating the speed' of AI transformation," Fortune, May 20, 2026 — https://fortune.com/2026/05/20/indeed-chief-economist-execs-overestimating-speed-ai-transformation-labor-market/ [34] "3 leadership lessons from AI-powered companies," Fast Company, Oct 2026 — https://www.fastcompany.com/91621833/3-leadership-lessons-from-ai-powered-companies [35] "PepsiCo's Ongoing North America Weakness Drives Guidance Cut, Says Analyst," Benzinga, Oct 2026 — https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-stock-ratings/analyst-color/26/10/62275231/pepsicos-ongoing-north-america-weakness-drives-guidance-cut-says-analyst [36] "Jefferies cuts Pepsico stock price target on slower progress," Investing.com, Oct 12, 2026 — https://au.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/jefferies-cuts-pepsico-stock-price-target-on-slower-progress-93CH-4684201 Also used: PepsiCo Dec 9, 2025 guidance call transcript — https://www.pepsico.com/docs/pepsico-5v9wci20/media/Files/investors/PepsiCo-Inc-December-9-2025-730-AM-ET-Transcript.pdf; PepsiCo Form 10-Q for period ended June 13, 2026 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000077476/000007747626000035/pep-20260613.htm

Universal Music Group's Nashville division, MCA, has implemented layoffs affecting approximately fourteen employees. This move follows broader cost-cutting measures initiated by the parent company. Several key executives, including the COO, were among those let go. These reductions are part of a larger corporate restructuring aimed at achieving significant annual savings. The company cited the need to adapt to industry changes and enhance efficiency.

https://www.billboard.com/pro/universal-music-mca-layoffs-staff-cut-restructuring/

If BNY really believed its own cost‑cutting gospel, the Executive Committee would be the next “efficiency lever.” Consider that a U.S. senior executive package easily runs $3–6M+ when you add salary, bonus, equity, benefits, and perks. An equivalent leadership role in Pune or Wroclaw costs a fraction — often 70–85% cheaper when you factor in compensation norms and lower fully‑loaded costs. If BNY is happy offshoring engineers, ops, QA, onboarding, and client service, why stop at the people making the decisions???

Would Wall Street cheer? Absolutely. Cutting a few million in executive comp barely moves expenses, but it sends a loud message: “We’re serious about margins.” And BNY’s stock already jumps when they squeeze labor — imagine the reaction if they squeezed their own.

Will it happen? Almost zero chance. Afterall, offshoring is for everyone else and of course not for those who go on African Safari trips. :0 The cost savings are real, but the appetite for self‑accountability at the top is nonexistent.

OpenText has spent almost 10 years building and running our FedRAMP environment. In my estimation, we must have spent at least $30–45 million on this entire exercise. And how much revenue have we generated? I will be very surprised if it is even $2 million in total. That also with our usual margins of around 30–32%.

Now you tell me, in which universe does this make any business sense?

But apparently, our great leadership looked at this fantastic financial performance and decided, why stop here? Let us take this same wonderful business model and expand it further! So we went ahead with IRAP in Australia and Protected B in Canada.

What a brilliant idea, no? If one environment is losing money, let us build two more. Surely three loss-making initiatives will somehow become profitable. Excellent strategy, sir. Absolutely outstanding.

And just when you think, okay, surely by now we must have learnt something, along comes Steven L and convinces our executive leadership that sovereign compute is the next big thing.

So once again, we are spending huge amounts of money, adding infrastructure, complexity, operational overhead and ongoing costs. Revenue? Profitability? Return on investment? Arre, why worry about such small things when we can put together a beautiful PowerPoint presentation about our strategic vision?

Now some of you may be thinking, why should I care? This is management's problem, no?

Unfortunately, no. It is very much our problem.

Because when these wonderful strategic decisions fail to deliver, who suffers? Certainly not the people who approved them.

Management has only one solution left. Cut people. Cut budgets. Stop hiring. And then tell the remaining employees that they must somehow manage everything.

Earlier, the magic word was efficiency. We were told to do more with less. Now the magic word is AI. Suddenly, AI is supposed to solve every problem, eliminate every inefficiency and allow five people to do the work of twenty.

Boss, please. At least give us some credit. We are not fools.

Call it efficiency, transformation, optimisation, AI or whatever fancy terminology is fashionable this quarter. The reality is the same. Management makes poor investment decisions, burns through millions, and then expects ordinary employees to compensate for those mistakes by working harder with fewer resources.

And the best part?

The same executives who approved these decisions continue collecting their big bonuses, stock awards and handsome compensation packages. Very nice.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are expected to be grateful for a 0–2% salary increase when the cost of living has gone up by around 30%.

Wah. What a fantastic arrangement.

The people making the mistakes collect the rewards. The people who had nothing to do with those decisions are made to pay the price.

And if you complain? You are not being positive. You are not demonstrating the right mindset. You are not embracing transformation.

Arre bhai, what transformation? We are simply rearranging the furniture while the entire building is on fire.

Management, seriously, wake the fu-k up.

First, please look at these regulated environments properly. FedRAMP, IRAP, Protected B, sovereign compute. Show us the actual numbers. How much have we invested? What is the revenue? What is the operating cost? What is the realistic path to profitability?

If the business case is not there, then why are we continuing? Just because somebody made a commitment in a boardroom does not mean the rest of the company should keep paying for it indefinitely.

Second, look at our product portfolio. We have so many products, platforms, technologies and overlapping capabilities that even internally it is becoming difficult to understand what we are supposed to prioritise.

Reduce the portfolio by 50–75% if necessary. Focus on what customers are actually buying, what generates sustainable revenue and what we can realistically support.

Instead, we keep adding more products, more requirements, more complexity and more commitments while simultaneously reducing the number of people expected to deliver everything.

How exactly is this supposed to work?

You cannot keep removing people from engineering and then act surprised when delivery slows down, technical debt increases, incidents happen and customers become unhappy.

And please, do not tell us again that AI will magically fix everything. AI is a tool, not some divine intervention that will compensate for ten years of questionable management decisions.

Those of us in engineering are already stretched. People are working ridiculous hours, covering multiple responsibilities and constantly trying to keep things running. And somehow, every quarter, we are expected to deliver even more.

Boss, there is a limit to everything.

We are engineers, not magicians.

And one more thing, which management really needs to understand.

Engineering is not your enemy. Engineering is probably one of the most valuable assets you have. But you need to know how to use us.

If you take a hammer and try to start a fire, or take a sc--wdriver and try to drive a nail, obviously it will not work. But then you cannot turn around and blame the hammer or sc--wdriver for being useless.

The problem is not the tool. The problem is the person who does not understand how to use it.

Give engineering a sensible strategy. Give us clear priorities. Give us realistic resources. Remove unnecessary complexity. Stop funding initiatives simply because somebody senior thinks they sound impressive.

And most importantly, listen to the people who actually understand what it takes to build, operate and support these systems.

We want the company to succeed. We want to deliver value. We want our customers to be successful. We are not sitting here looking for excuses.

But you cannot keep making bad decisions at the top, passing the consequences down to employees and then giving everyone lectures about accountability, efficiency and ownership.

Accountability should start with the people making the decisions, not only with the people doing the work.

Help us help you, yaar.

Because right now, management is behaving as if engineering is the problem, when in reality engineering is the only reason many of these questionable decisions have not already become complete disasters.

And please, for once, instead of asking us to do more with less, how about giving us less nonsense to deal with so we can actually do something meaningful?

That itself would be a very good start.

Comcast Donated $7.5 Million for Donald Trump’s Lavish New White House Ballroom

https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/comcast-funding-trump-white-house-ballroom-1236913205/

The high-risk, high-cost Eliza project directly threatens BNY's expensive workforce with aggressive layoffs as RV faces intense pressure to protect operating margins. Because he cannot easily cut its multi-year, multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure contracts, human capital represents the primary variable cost lever. If Eliza fails to smoothly transition from an expensive, high-maintenance experiment into a reliable utility, or conversely, if workers successfully train the platform to achieve full autonomy, RV will resort to swift, ruthless domestic headcount reductions and offshore remaining oversight to cheaper global hubs to offset rising tech expenses.

Companies are increasingly cutting jobs due to AI advancements, but this decision may incur greater long-term expenses than reskilling employees. Replacing laid-off workers involves significant costs such as recruitment, onboarding, and the loss of institutional knowledge. Studies indicate that rehiring can often exceed the savings from layoffs, and remaining employees may experience decreased productivity. While reskilling also has associated costs, it can be a more financially sound strategy in the long run. Therefore, organizations should carefully compare the financial implications of both cutting and training before making workforce decisions.

https://www.aicerts.ai/blogs/train-or-cut-from-hsbc-to-kroger-ai-layoffs-keep-rising-here-is-what-they-really-cost-compared-with-reskilling/

Welcome to the x Corporate Crypt!
All right, wage slaves, step right up and look alive—because half of you won't be by midnight! We got layoffs, layoffs, layoffs!
Come on in, tech workers! Down here, the severance is zero here at x and the horror is non-stop! We got fresh layoffs, involuntary layoffs, quiet layoffs, loud layoffs! We got ghost layoffs! Discrimination layoffs! Skeleton-crew layoffs!
We got hot-off-the-presses layoffs! We got cold-blooded quarterly cuts! We got HR witches cackling in the hub! We got C Suite vampires draining your pensions!
You want a pink slip? We got 'em carved out of pumpkins! You want an empty cubicle? We got haunted desks, cursed keycards, and phantom severance packages!
If we don't slash your headcount, you don't pay! Come on in, cost-cutters! Find out if you're the survivor or the sacrifice at the x! If you can find a cheaper layoff anywhere else… it will be x!

Or is it the good old greed only.

“We did some work last year and saw a substantial reduction in headcount, but quite frankly, there’s more to be had, and you’ll see us taking aggressive action there in the next 12-18 months as well”.

Buckle up. “Aggressive action”