Even Pepsi Cutting Jobs

Looks like even Pepsi is cutting jobs, over 3,000 this time.

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- PepsiCo Inc., the world's largest snack maker, said it will cut 3,300 jobs after profit fell more than analysts estimated and the company lowered its forecast for the rest of the year. The shares dropped as much as 14 percent in New York trading.

PepsiCo wants to save $1.2 billion over three years as it closes as many as six plants and pares 1.8 percent of its workforce, including ``overlapping'' marketing and sales jobs, Chief Financial Officer Richard Goodman said today in an interview.

The maker of Gatorade and Pepsi-Cola will use some of the savings to boost marketing of its beverages in North America, which make up a fourth of PepsiCo's annual revenue. Drink sales in the U.S. and Canada decreased 3 percent in the third quarter as consumers cut back on soft drinks in groceries and convenience stores to better afford higher priced gasoline and food.

``The initiatives come at a time when it's evident they're necessary,'' Mark Swartzberg, a New Jersey-based analyst with Stifel Nicolas & Co., said today in an interview. ``Beverage performance in North America continues to be challenging and worse than expected.'' He recommends holding the stock.

Full-year earnings excluding some costs will be $3.67 to $3.68 a share, lower than its prediction of $3.72 in July, the Purchase, New York-based company said. The dollar's increase against other currencies will hurt profit in the fourth quarter, it said.

PepsiCo, the world's second-largest soda maker, dropped $5.44, or 8.8 percent, to $56.33 at 9:41 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares decreased 19 percent this year before today, compared with a 23 percent decline for Coca-Cola Co.

Americans are spending less on soda, to afford gas prices right now?