Coca-Cola Eliminates 750 Jobs in the United States

The job cuts are happening three years after the company went through an acquisition that made some of the positions in its North America workforce redundant.

More people may have to take out their gold for sale since they will be out in employment lines and may not have alternative sources of income. The job eliminations, which will be across all departments, calculate to around 1 percent of the soft drink maker’s employees of 75,000 in North America.

Around one-fourth of the terminations will be in the company’s headquarters in Atlanta, GA, reported a spokesman to Reuters, confirming a prior media report. The company started in 1886 when John Pemberton, an Atlanta, GA pharmacist, gave birth to one of America’s most recognized symbols. Pemberton created a well-known beverage company by stirring up a fragrant, caramel-colored liquid. After the mixture, Pemberton carried the creation to Jacobs’ Pharmacy to combine it with carbonated water. Customers at the pharmacy sampled the concoction, and a drink was born. The mixture was sold at Jacobs’ Pharmacy for five cents a glass. The pharmacist’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, called the mixture Coca-Cola, and wrote the name out in a distinct script, which has become part of the company’s logo. A century later, the company has been recognized for manufacturing more than 10 billion gallons of syrup.

In a memo distributed to the company’s workforce in February 2013, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, Coca-Cola stated that since the integration after a 2010 acquisition involving its North American bottling system, it has pinpointed areas that must be streamlined.

According to Reuters: “We must become a more aligned and unified North American group,” the memo stated. The memo went on to read:  “That means improving our structures, processes and systems,” according to Reuters.

After the layoff announcement, Coca-Cola shares went up 3 cents at $39.90. The company operates in almost all the countries of the world, including remote areas, and well known tourist spots in Mexico, China, and European Union countries. The company has more than 500 brands, including Ambasa and Frescolita. Coca-Cola tailors its drinks to local markets, and is aware of what people’s taste buds when they are not from the same backgrounds.