Coca-Cola Shrinking With the Help of CFO John Murphy

Amid a year of pandemic-induced uncertainty, Coca-Cola continues to shrink its product offerings as well as its headcount. That's according to a report on WSJ, which indicated finance chief John Murphy wants to cut the number of its brands, lay off or buy out thousands of workers, and revise its marketing strategy.

A little over a month ago, we report on how the beverage giant was dropping Zico Water from its lineup. That's on top of reports that it was getting slammed in its most recent fiscal quarter, with revenue down 28% from last year and earnings down 32%.

According to the WSJ report, the restructuring is part of a strategic overhaul that began in 2017 to "increase collaboration between business units and better understand consumer trends." According to an interview with CFO Journal, Murphy admits "The pandemic has accelerated the need for those changes." 

Murphy will continue to work with Coca-Cola’s marketing and operations chiefs to decide which brands to keep as well as which new products to continue to pursue. According to the report, he expects the 'heavy lifting' of the restructuring is to be completed in the next six months.