I agree whole heartedly. Everything you stated I saw, and lived first hand. I was bought out after 22 years of building the brands and relationships that made Frito a powerhouse. Sad to see where they are headed. The legacy we built is a pile of ashes.
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When I left the company the talk was switching all RSR sales force to merchandisers. The suggestion was also to make them independent contractors which would mean instead of a w-2 form you would receive a 1099 and be liable for all taxes. Benefits would be your expense. Basically it is a job like Amazon drivers, Uber and Lyft. Pepsico would save millions for switching all 13,000 drivers. Good Luck.
Every restructuring move in the last 3 years has been setting the stage for the end of DSD at Frito. The 2013 end of managerial pensions, the Milennial management hiring wave and associated 18 month career paths, mass forced exits of tenured, over age 50 white males set Frito Lay up for an over-funded pension fund for the Ivory Tower to plunder. Keebler, Hostess, Kellogg's, Nestle have already abandoned DSD, and Mondelez and Frito will be next. The fact is that DSD is just too costly to run in today's market, and the companies no longer want to deal with the "People Piece". Retailers are already making decisions to force the end of DSD for all suppliers not mandated by law to direct deliver (Beer, Wine, Liquor, Soda). I consider myself blessed that I got out with a severance package, fully vested pension, and healthy 401k very close to planned retirement. The company we built is gone forever.....what you are witnessing now is the winding down of an era and implementation of the necessary steps away from DSD and toward the warehouse model.