Procter & Gamble to cut 7,000 jobs in global office workforce over 2 years

FMCG giant Procter & Gamble plans to cut 7,000 jobs from its global office workforce — roughly 15 per cent of its non-manufacturing employees — over the next two years, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The maker of Tide detergent, Pampers diapers, and Bounty paper towels employed around 108,000 people as of June last year.

During a conference in Paris, P&G executives shared their intention to refine the company’s product portfolio. They plan to exit certain categories and divest smaller brands in specific markets, though details of these plans were not disclosed.

In April, the company reported a decline in quarterly sales and lowered its fiscal-year sales forecast, citing “consumer uncertainty and a volatile geopolitical environment”. To tackle tariffs, P&G noted that it would consider cost-cutting measures, alter product formulations, and raise prices on some items.

The company is also contending with stiff competition for market share as shoppers become more price-conscious.

According to P&G, the job cuts are part of a broader reorganisation designed to “create a better work structure, with broader roles and smaller teams”. The company emphasised that the layoffs are not intended to reduce costs but rather to improve organisational efficiency.

Over the past decade, P&G has narrowed the number of categories it competes in, focusing on its most popular daily-use products. Last year, for instance, the company sold its Vidal Sassoon hair care brand in China.

In recent years, it also divested smaller brands in Europe and Latin America as part of its strategy to streamline its business.

P&G investment in quick commerce

Last year, Procter & Gamble said it was investing in "developing a deep understanding of the unique consumer behaviour" in quick commerce (qcom).

The fast-changing desires of Indian consumers, along with improvements in both physical and digital infrastructure, are driving qcom to grow rapidly in the country.

At the opening session of Ficci Massmerize 2024, Kumar Venkatasubramanian, CEO of P&G India, noted that shoppers, especially in metro and Tier-I cities, are increasingly choosing convenience.

To meet this demand, the company is “building curated brand experiences and supplementing this with a supply chain model to support this unique business structure. Enabled by strategic customer partnerships that celebrate the best of data and analytics, we are able to grow qcom at 2x the previous rate,” he explained.

He also added that India is becoming a leader in advanced supply chain capabilities, meeting shoppers’ changing needs by making products available where and when they want to buy.