The surprise announcement last month that CEO Dolf van den Brink would step aside (he will step down in May after six years at the top) was just the warning shock before the earthquake: Heineken will cut about 7% of its workforce to cope with an industry-wide drop in demand for beer, triggered by rising prices and a more moderate approach to alcohol among consumers.
The Dutch manufacturer, which also produces (among others) the Italian Birra Moretti, Ichnusa, Dreher, said it will cut 5,000 to 6,000 jobs – mainly in Europe and outside the Netherlands – out of a global workforce of 87,000 employees. A cost recovery intervention on staff was expected and foreseen in the recovery plan, but the choice goes much further. “We do this to strengthen operations and to be able to invest in growth,” said CFO Harold van den Broek. Some cuts will be concentrated in Europe or non-priority markets with lower growth prospects, he added, and some will stem from already announced initiatives affecting the supply network, headquarters and regional operating units. The cut will take place over two years, the company specified, without specifying which roles will be involved.
From the Italian headquarters it is known that in the last few hours «the Heineken group has shared an update on the ongoing organizational evolution» and that «at the moment there is no specific information indicating that the changes communicated at European level will influence the organization or employees of Heineken Italia».
The company, meanwhile, expects operating profit growth of between 2% and 6% this year, compared with 4.4% in 2025. While the forecasts are “slightly more conservative” than market expectations, they set the company up for results in a transition year, Jefferies analysts said in a note. Berenberg analysts commented that the results were better than feared” and that the guidelines show Heineken’s commitment to productivity.
The company reported a decline in beer volumes in 2025, although the 2.4% decline was slightly better than what analysts expected. Organic operating profit also exceeded expectations, growing by 4.4%. The company reports that Birra Moretti volumes recorded a slight decline, due to a weaker performance in Italy and the UK, but recorded growth in the rest of Europe, in particular in Switzerland, Ireland and France.
date:2026-02-11 21:01:00
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