PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta has told employees that any part of the company not tied to growth will be eliminated, according to a message reported by MarketWatch. The directive, delivered as an internal warning to the workforce, puts every business line, brand, and team at the snack and beverage giant under a single test: does it produce growth?
Laguarta's message was blunt: if you're not producing growth, you're out. The framing leaves little room for units that are profitable but stagnant, or projects that serve strategic goals without measurable revenue gains. PepsiCo employs roughly 318,000 people worldwide and generated about $91.5 billion in revenue in 2023, so any broad restructuring tied to the growth mandate would carry significant scale.
The company has been under pressure on multiple fronts. PepsiCo's beverage volumes in North America have slipped in recent quarters as consumers pulled back on soda and shifted toward water and smaller-format drinks, while its Frito-Lay snacks division has faced slowing demand after several years of price increases. Quaker Foods, its oatmeal and cereal unit, took a hit from a recall of granola bars and cereals in early 2024 that weighed on sales.
Investors have taken notice. PepsiCo shares have trailed the broader market over the past year, and Wall Street analysts have questioned whether the company can hit its long-term growth targets without deeper changes to its portfolio. Laguarta's internal message signals he intends to answer that question by cutting what doesn't perform rather than defending it.
Laguarta, who has led PepsiCo since 2018, has spent much of his tenure reshaping the company around healthier products and operational efficiency. He has pushed brands like Gatorade Zero, Bubly, and PopCorners while trimming underperforming lines. In 2023, PepsiCo announced it would cut hundreds of corporate jobs at its Purchase, New York headquarters, a move the company said was aimed at simplifying operations.
The growth-or-exit message extends that logic to its conclusion. Under Laguarta's stated standard, a brand or division that cannot show expansion becomes a candidate for divestiture, shutdown, or absorption into a stronger unit. For employees, the implication is that job security now depends directly on the performance of the business they support.
PepsiCo has not publicly detailed which units or brands fall under review. The company did not announce layoffs or divestitures alongside Laguarta's message. But the directive gives managers across the company a clear instruction: justify your operation by its growth, or expect it to be cut.
