Thread regarding PepsiCo Inc. (Pepsi) layoffs

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@15a likely one of first areas wiped out by Elliott

Also away from home teams and bottling related areas

@14y this is same across most SnT where the Indians clique band together. You cannot apply for any roles as they hire their own.
They insult you infront then go behind you and backstab every opportunity they get.
Impose quotas as they milked the dei bandwagon to capture the entire org.

@14y some shady senior folks still in DPA/S&T that G-yatriN brought on board… cleansing needed badly!

maybe some positive changes in the right direction soon! Finally ! S&T has damaged Pepsico a lot with its poorly executed strategy. For example, the original sin when setting up the DPS/ DPA was hiring leaders without integrity - people who only look out for how to fill their own pockets and push their careers forward, without regard for long-term consequences for Pepsico or what’s happening to their teams. A mentality straight out of the Indian caste system: ‘I’m a VP, so whatever you say is worth nothing, just do what you are told to do and stop asking questions …’. Fcuk Voice Your Opinions Fearlessly ! . That started from G-yatri and followed with VPs appointed by her .

PepsiCo LT's strategy for growth has been to acquire every startup that looks se-y. Siete, poppi, what next? Our R&D team can very well develop products like these. This buying spree is implying that our own brands' reputation is so bad that we cannot produce Lays branded "healthy" potato chips or a Pepsi branded "healthy" cola.

@vy https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2025/Sep/07/indian-it-sector-on-alert-as-us-considers-new-outsourcing-tax

If this happens, the hubs and outsourcing are toast. Amen .... Lobby your local member of Congress for this.

It is high time to put these csuite enablers on the edge. Good riddance to the Indians offshore and impose quotas on h1b hires.

@rs R&D has invested so much of their budget on PLM with nothing to show for. They have fancy PowerPoints, but those are it.

Good luck calling India for software support and why is Ramon making 25 million and the shareholders suffer

@OP - you might edit to add the influence Elliott had on the board and business practices of Southwest Airlines. Many have felt that impact first-hand in the new seating policies and ticketing tiers.

Things starting to shift in R&D which hopefully means a better innovation future. Too much deadweight at the very top of the function that have su-ked too much salary and produced absolutely zero. Hopefully a brighter future awaits.

@OP Elliot report provided more strategic guidance than S&T did in the past 5 years

With Elliott’s $4B stake in PepsiCo, the pressure is on for operational discipline. Elliott’s track record shows they don’t shy away from reshaping companies when shareholder value is stagnant. For PepsiCo, here are areas that need urgent tightening:

1. Travel Spend Must Be the First Initiative
   Elliott is right to spotlight costs, and travel is the most obvious lever. Too often, employees fly in from India under the banner of “workshops” or “conferences” that could easily happen over Teams. For example, one recent trip from Hyderabad for a one-day workshop ended up extending into personal time — despite visa rules that should prohibit it. Radha did something similar. These short, discretionary trips appear more like perks than business necessities. PepsiCo could immediately save millions by enforcing stricter policies here.

2. Rethink the India Hub
   The India hub structure has ballooned in size, with far more roles compared to the U.S. equivalent. Yet, the return on this investment is unclear. It feels more like unchecked headcount growth than a source of genuine business value. Elliott should press PepsiCo to justify this model or right-size it.

3. Questionable Groups and Spending
   There are certain groups aligned to Ramon that consume significant budget without showing visible contribution. This kind of opaque spend undermines confidence in PepsiCo’s ability to manage costs wisely. It’s exactly the type of inefficiency activists like Elliott are known to call out.

When I was working at PepsiCo, it felt like the whole place ran on PPTs. Leadership was obsessed with slides — they’d spend hours nitpicking fonts, colors, and “storytelling” — while the actual implementation took a back seat. ROI? Execution? Nah, just give them a shiny deck.

Honestly, an AI agent that can sp-t out endless PowerPoints would probably replace half the “strategic” work being done there. Might even get promoted faster than real employees. This is exactly why so much time and money gets wasted — style over substance, every single time.

@ns A new leader from JPMC would be interesting. That would most definitely shake things up. That would put Athina one step closer to the door since AI is her baby. What else would she be doing without AI?

Rumor going around that PepsiCo recently brought in a new leader from JPMC to run AI.
Word is Elliott might let AI projects drift along without showing much ROI… or maybe it’s already a sign the whole AI team could be on the chopping block. Anyone else hearing the same?

@kk Yes, Pepsi latched onto Frito-Lay to try to save themselves from going down and now they are dragging them both under. Frito has carried the business for a long time and would be much more innovative and competitive on their own without the red tape caused by trying to merge apples and oranges for power of one.

@m4 completely agree. This org is too top and Indian heavy. Cut the entire structure down. The red tape to do one job takes 8. It was being done by one before.
Major ozempic dose is needed starting from Ceo salary as well

There needs to be big changes at PEP and soon. It's more than obvious that PEP's current bad management team is out of their league, they have absolutely no clue. PEP has a YTD return of negative 15% while the S&P 500 is at positive 17% ? The current PEP management isn't even trying, they need to go. Elliott Management has evidently put more thought into PEP than the current management has. PEP needs a big restructuring and there needs to be layoffs, plant closings, downsizing, spin-offs etc etc, whatever it takes to give the shareholders an ROI that's better than negative 15%. After all, it's all about the shareholders, it's the only reason why PEP exists.

@kk beverages was doing well under pbg until that witch Indra who was out to enrich her own kind took over with 'i have a dream'. And her woke ideals to enrich her own kind.

It was working before and there is no reason it cannot be done. They are totally different businesses.

@ke How would Pepsico make much of a profit without Frito Lay ? I worked for both divisions for 37 years. I was told we make 2-3 cents per a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi. On most big bags of chips we make over a $ 1.00. I had friends in high levels of management and they said Pepsi would take a beating. PEPSICO is much stronger when you go into a grocer with all the varieties we sell to get more space.

Never say never. It’s been done before and it was better in many ways.

@aj They will never break up Pepsico and Frito Lay. FL is the most profitable division.

Ramon, BOD, Athina, and all SVPs.....sounds like the real Buffalo just showed up. You're about to get the ho-n.

Hopefully it results in some big changes in Plano, like closing half the building, so much useless non-value add deadweight there. Its like the Twilight Zone. You've never seen so many "legends in their own minds" walking around in one building thinking that making power points and attending meetings all day corresponds to "driving results"... meanwhile sales and market share continue to decline and shareholders are getting a negative ROI.

Love to Elliot Letter. Ramon and Athina (even the BOD) have to be concerned. Expect some changes in the ivory tower soon. They've sat back and made easy money. That's about to stop. This is probably the best thing to happen to the company.

@ce yup does anyone know what those people do? Who was figuring out what happened with starry soda? Rockstar energy drink? Also sales and marketing "leaders" - why lays and tostitos market share down so much? Accountability ahead.

https://elliottletters.com/wp-content/uploads/Elliotts-Letter-to-PepsiCo.pdf

@cd most definitely, Athina pet projects and dark.ops days are numbered. I hope SnT will be culled and entire org milking by the Indians and their croonies contractors gone. This is a blessing indeed. The reorg is definitely peanuts to what is coming in next few months.

@b1 "re org" is peanuts compared to what's coming. Elliott said financial guidance needs to be updated and that means huge cuts

@a9 yup too many layers. Got sales and marketing on top of sales and marketing. Worst examples in the away from home sales teams duplicate organizations, account teams on top of account teams. Need solid 30% cut in sales, marketing, marketing spend, across the board

Based on the elliott presentation, looks like bottling will be spun off (re franchise), that would be good thing for folks directly in bottling. Frito lay probably massive plant closures (adjust to the demand environment). Corporate, sales, marketing likely massive cuts.

My worry is that private equity = 10x more off-shoring to increase short-term returns

@bc Ramon, Athina, ram and entire garbage collection from India must be shown the plank. Shut down these offshore money pits who cannot understand our business or add any value. We actually needed 3G capital to shut this bullsh-t down.

It’s not just about the coach…..it’s about the team. Our team has drafted sooo many weak players over the last 10 to 15 years that are now coaching the new players. Turning PepsiCo around will take years. The best plan is to sell bottling to franchise and prey they can fix it. All ton of quality talent has been traded to franchise and that’s why they excel.

@ba Knowing this investment firm...Ramon has months left.

Feels like time’s up for Ram. NA beverage business has been nothing but a disaster since he took it on. Lot of questions about Ramon’s leadership decisions…..not sure how long he will last?! Which then begs the question who has the chops to take things over and turn this ship around!!

@am good point.it will derail it.

It is right. Entire org needs to be reorganized.

Wonder how this will change the planned reorganization. He bought in at a good time….plenty of opportunities to seize

@aj this should have happened long back. But it was mama Indra pipe dream. It was a disaster.