so travel banned again to give money back. Sales are not good for Foods. Also a source has given me the heads up that all have to start to come in the office 4 days a week now except Global roles ie the R&D teams!
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There are functions — especially in Infrastructure & Operations, process and Controls, and Tech Strategy( yes under Dave) where certain leaders seem to operate above accountability. Everyone knows it, but no one says it out loud. Even strong leaders like Dave can’t intervene because some of these folks have direct backing from the highest levels.
The result?
• Massive spending with little oversight — projects and travel justified under banners that don’t actually deliver.
• The same select groups attend conferences and workshops every month, while others are told to tighten budgets.
• Teams doing real work get micromanaged, while those who play the political game get rewarded.
It’s demoralizing to watch because this isn’t the Pepsi many of us joined. The company used to value execution, ethics, and fairness — now it feels like survival of the most connected.
This post isn’t about bashing leadership — it’s about calling for equal accountability. If Pepsi wants to rebuild trust, it needs to hold everyone to the same standard — regardless of who they report to or whose name they drop.
@bg no coach here, corporate jet all the way!
@hf this is so true. There is no point to have r&d in Chicago.
When is that being communicated?
@r3
so true! SnT leadership and some directors went to Pennsylvania recently to visit Upenn to get Pepsi "degrees" that they paid for! I was in a call with a director and he was bragging about having a degree from an ivy league and I just rolled my eyes
Travel policies are broken. The double standards are clear:
• One team in Dave’s org has zero office presence. When they show up, it’s billed as travel expense.
• Last week, 15+ people flew in for a workshop — most of them project managers, not technical staff. Flights, hotels, meals — all charged to the company.
• Those same folks went out for big dinners two nights in a row, all on company tab.
• Meanwhile, US teams are told to cut travel, justify every dollar, and Level 8/9 employees are forced into office 3x a week.
• Sr. Directors and VPs? Free pass. They travel when they want, expense what they want, and no one questions it.
If Plano, New York, or Chicago is your base, and you’re home office, coming in should not be a company-paid trip. And when people travel in, it should be for real justification — not parties or duplicate managers showing up for the same meeting.
Why is Santosh allowing his team to get away with this? Why is Dave letting the double standard slide?
Policies should be the same for everyone — no blank checks, no free rides.
Share the email saying everyone back to the office…
I don't understand why we have R&D people in Chicago. I've observed they make frequent trips to the R&D hubs in Plano or Valhalla because their labs and stakeholders are there. Close R&D in Chicago and move them to Plano or Valhalla.
Who really cares about travel. The only travel anyone, at this point, should be concerned with is the final “trip” out the door of this h*ll hole to a better company and more prosperous future.
@bg so basically the poor sales managers trying to help meet earnings can't go anywhere
Layers upon layers of VP free to shuttle purchase to Plano weekly, especially in foodservice org...let's go meet random distributor "channel partners" and cry together about how bad the market is
Plano doesn’t even have the space for people to come in the office 2-3 days a week. Hardly anyone comes in Monday or Friday. Wednesdays are the busiest and parking is a problem, the cafeteria size is a problem, and desk availability is a problem. It would be a cr-p show is Plano had to come in 4x per week
This rule only applies to L11s and below, who don't travel anyway. The rule does not apply especially to Ramon, Maria (Ramon's Wife), and Athina. They fly everywhere every week on PepsiCo's $$.
Also, I'm sure they're not flying coach.
This happens every year and every year people seem surprised. It’s the PepsiCo way.
Boo Hoo, the world's tiniest violin is playing
some questionable folks commuting to Purchase from time to time, wont be happy about it.