General Mills May Lay Off 1,200 By 2023

General Mills executives told employees June 4 that it will likely eliminate 700-800 jobs in the U.S. and Canada and 500-600 international positions over the next two years as part of a downsizing, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The plans were revealed to employees in a virtual meeting the newspaper learned about. The company's headquarters in Minneapolis suburb Golden Valley could be reduced by as much as 20% of its 3,000 employees. General Mills has a global workforce of around 35,000 full-time and part-time employees.

The company's fiscal year just ended May 31, and although the results won't be posted for another month, Big G is expected to post strong gains in both sales and income. Through three quarters, net sales increased 8 percent to $4.5 billion, operating profit increased 27 percent to $827 million and diluted earnings per share totaled 96 cents, up 30 percent from the prior year.

Like other Big Food companies, General Mills benefitted from simpler, at-home food consumption during the pandemic, but it expects sales to return to pre-pandemic levels.

The Star Tribune noted the company eliminated more than 5,000 positions 2014-2016 during a time when cost-cutting was common across the food industry.