Heineken to slash up to 6,000 jobs in AI 'productivity savings' amid slump in beer sales

In this articleDutch brewer Heineken is planning to lay off up to up to 7% of its workforce, as it looks to boost efficiency through productivity savings from AI, following weak beer sales last year. The world's second-largest brewer reported lackluster earnings on Wednesday, with total beer volumes declining 2.4% over the course of 2025, while adjusted operating profit was up 4.4%. The company also said it plans to cut between 5,000 and 6,000 roles over the next two years and is targeting operating profit growth in the range of 2% to 6% this year. Heineken's shares were last seen up 3.4%, and the stock is up nearly 7% so far this year. Outgoing CEO Dolf van den Brink told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday that the results were due to "challenging market circumstances," but performance was overall well-balanced. Heineken's outlook for 2026 comes in below the usual range but "is in line with buyside expectations and consistent with peer Carlsberg, and prudent in light of a new incoming," UBS analysts said in a note on Wednesday. Regarding the cuts, Van den Brink said: "Productivity has been a top priority in our evergreen strategy... we committed to 400 to 500 million euros ($476 million to $600 million) of savings on an annual basis, and this is a first operationalization of that debt commitment." The job reductions will help the brewer to invest in growth and in its premium brands, he said.Van den Brink acknowledged that the cuts came "partly also due to AI, or let's say digitization." "That's a very big part of our EverGreen 2030 strategy, with around 3,000 roles moving to our business services, where technology digitization in general, and AI specifically, will be an important part of ongoing productivity savings," he said.The EverGreen 2030 strategy focuses on three core areas, including accelerating growth, increasing productivity, and future-fit. The company, headquartered in the Netherlands, has 87,000 employees and operates in over 70 countries. Van den Brink is due to step down from his leadership position in May after six years at the helm. Heineken is currently searching for a successor. AI layoffs have dominated headlines over the past year, and remain a top focus for businesses and leaders going into 2026. In the U.S., AI contributed to nearly 55,000 layoffs in the U.S. in 2025, according to December data from consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Firms that cited AI in layoffs in 2025 range from Amazon, which announced 15,000 cuts last year, to Salesforce, with CEO Marc Benioff saying he let go of 4,000 customer support workers as AI was supposedly doing 50% of the work at the company.Some European companies that cited AI in restructuring strategies were airline group Lufthansa and tech consultancy firm Accenture. Kristalina Georgieva, managing director at the International Monetary Fund, told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in January that AI is "hitting the labor market like a tsunami" and warned that "most countries and most businesses are not prepared for it." — CNBC's Steve Sedgwick, Karen Tso, and Ben Boulos contributed to this report.Correction: This story has been updated to correct the U.S. dollar conversion of Heineken's planned annual savings.Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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