Pepsi to close six plants; cut 3,300 jobs

NEW YORK PepsiCo announced Tuesday it plans on eliminating 3,300 jobs and closing six of its plants within the next few months. The company suffered a 9.5 percent drop in third-quarter profit and expects to take even more of a hit due to the surging U.S. dollar.

By cutting approximately 1.8 percent of its global work force, PepsiCo estimates it will save $350 million to $400 million in 2009 and pretax savings of more than $1.2 billion throughout the next three years.

The major beverage conglomerate plans to focus on its most popular product—carbonated soft drinks—and improving its marketing campaign, rather than following its recent strategy of branching out toward pricey alternatives, including energy drinks, sparkling juice and ready-to-drink teas.

“We’re looking at re-engaging consumers, keeping the ones we have and making sure we’re getting additional consumers into the fold,” chief financial officer Richard Goodman said.