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US alt-meat business Beyond Meat is to cut jobs in its home market and the EU – and suspend its operation in China.
The plant-based burger and sausage manufacturer has been carrying out cost-cutting measures and revealed yesterday (26 February) it “took out just over $50m in operating expenses, excluding a $7.5m settlement” in 2024.
However, reporting its 2024 financial results, Beyond Meat showed the cost-cutting is continuing to try to “strengthen its financial profile and support its long-term objectives”.
The group revealed a plan to reduce its workforce in North America and the EU by approximately 44 employees, representing around 6% of the company’s global workforce.
At the same time, Beyond Meat said it plans to suspend its operation in China, which are estimated to cease by the end of the second quarter.
“As part of this plan, the company is reducing its workforce in China by approximately 20 employees, representing approximately 95% of the company’s China workforce,” it said.
It added: “The decision was based on cost-reduction initiatives intended to reduce operating expenses.”
Beyond Meat made its retail bow in China in 2020, selling its patties in the country through local e-commerce giant Alibaba’s Freshippo supermarkets.
Quizzed about what the China operation contributed towards overall revenues in a post-results call with analysts, Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown would only say “we don't break out by that specific geography, the performance”.
Brown was in a bullish mood on the call, suggesting the company's full-year performance “reflects an important inflection point in Beyond Meat's journey”.
He added: “In the second half of the year, we registered two consecutive quarters of year-over-year net revenue growth following more than two years of declining sales.”
CFO Lubi Kutua suggested Beyond Meat's US retail performance is also a source of optimism for the company.
“These results in US retail, which comprises almost half of our total net revenues were encouraging given that they represented a second consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth despite a macro environment that remains challenged,” he said.
Kutua said Beyond Meat had benefited from price increases which “started to kick in in Q2 of 2024”. He said there will be “some select price increases in 2025 [but] not nearly as broad in US retail as we had in 2024”.
In the three months ended 31 December, Beyond Meat achieved net revenues of $76.7m, up 4% year-on-year. Net losses narrowed from $155.1m to $44.9m while the company made an adjusted EBITDA loss of $26m compared to one of $125.1m 12 months earlier.