Beyond Meat is cutting about 40 jobs in the plan to cut costs

Bloomberg – The American company Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND), a plant-based meat manufacturer, CEO Ethan Brown has cut about 40 jobs as part of a broader plan to cut costs, CEO Ethan Brown told employees in an internal memo..

“It’s a difficult decision, but it is part of our broader strategy to reduce operating expenses and support sustainable growth,” Brown said in the memo seen by Bloomberg.

According to people familiar with the matter, operations team workers in multiple locations were affected. The company, which announced it had about 1,100 employees at the end of last year, is due to present its results on Thursday afternoon..

The company’s shares lost 0.2% in the pre-opening period in New York.

Once the darling of Wall Street, Beyond Meat has been struggling to turn partnerships with some of the world’s largest restaurant companies into a profitable business., such as McDonald’s Corp. (DCM) Wim! Brands Inc (yes). Although the company has pioneered the development of plant-based products that mimic the texture and taste of meat, Their efforts to increase production and innovate new products were marred by setbacks. The competition also intensified.

Even when the company announces new products, it continues to search for the best way to make them, sometimes at great cost.. On a May earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Phil Hardin describe it Process of primary production of cured vegetables, launched with PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) as “expensive and ineffective”.

Wall Street has turned pessimistic: The company’s shares are down nearly 50% so far in 2022 after falling by a similar rate in 2021.

David Trainer, CEO of investment research firm New Constructs, Concerns about the company’s funds were reported in a recent research note and in a phone interview.

“Beyond Meat has failed to generate any positive free cash flow since it went public in 2019,” Trainer wrote in an August 2 memo.. He said the $548 million in cash the company had at the end of the first quarter was just enough to maintain its current spending level for 10 months beyond the period ending April 2.

“Raising additional capital to fund cash spending would be costly and bad news for existing and new shareholders,” Trainer wrote.

in an interview, Trainer said the layoffs could help preserve Beyond Meat’s cash, but “the test is how much help they can provide.”

Read more at Bloomberg.com