Plant-based meat company Beyond Meat has said it will cut 19% of its non-production workforce in response to a weaker-than-expected third quarter, according to a report from the Associated Press. The reduction of about 65 employees is being called a “broader corporate review,” and Beyond Meat also noted it would consider culling product lines, as well as making changes to pricing and manufacturing, and restructuring its Chinese operations.
“We anticipated a modest return to growth in the third quarter of 2023 that did not occur,” Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said in a statement cited in the AP story. The company expects revenue to come in 8.5% lower than the same period a year ago, and full-year net revenue to be 19-21% lower than the previous year.
Beyond Meat’s struggles are just the latest for the plant-based meat segment overall, as 2023 has been a rough year for the segment. In August, Circana reported sales of plant-based meat alternatives down 7.4% year-over-year and volume is down 15.6% in unit sales and 13.4% in pounds. Additionally, CoBank released a report saying that consumer interest in plant-based meat alternatives had peaked in 2020 and momentum was waning.
In addition, this isn’t Beyond Meat’s first visit to the layoff turnstiles, with the company having let go of about 240 employees at multiple points in 2022, with inflation and increased competition blamed for the workforce cuts.
