Bud Light Brewer Lays Off Hundreds of U.S. Workers

Anheuser-Busch InBev laid off hundreds of workers at its U.S. offices after months of slumping sales at Bud Light.

The world’s largest brewer, which also sells Stella Artois and Budweiser, on Wednesday said the cuts would affect less than 2% of its roughly 18,000 U.S. workforce. The layoffs won’t impact front-line workers such as brewery and warehouse staff, the company said.

“While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success,” Anheuser-Busch Chief Executive Brendan Whitworth said in a written statement. “These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best—brewing great beer for everyone.”

The restructuring eliminated corporate and marketing roles at major U.S. offices, including St. Louis, New York and Los Angeles. 

Bud Light sales have tanked since April amid a commercial backlash over a promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Earlier this summer, Mexican brand Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as the top-selling beer in the U.S. 

AB InBev is slated to update investors on its latest quarterly financial results next week.

Write to Ngai Yeung at [email protected]