Beyond Meat will lay off 6% of its workforce and suspend operations in China as it tries to reduce costs and strengthen its ailing balance sheet.
The company will cut 44 jobs in North America and the EU, as well as making unspecified changes to the executive leadership team.
It also announced plans to suspend its operations in China by the end of June as part of a review of its global operations. This will result in a further 20 job losses.
Beyond Meat is cutting its expenses over the next two years in a bid to turn a profit by the end of 2026.
The announcement came as its full-year results disappointed investors. While its sales rose 4% to $76.7m in the three months to 31 December, beating analysts’ expectations, its adjusted loss per share was 65 cents, wider than analysts expected.
Operating losses shortened to $37.8m in the final quarter, down from $160.8m a year ago, while operating losses for the year came ion at $156.1m, compared with $341.9m in 2023.
Its sales growth was largely driven by price increases and lower trade discounts, while volumes fell due to “weak category demand and price elasticity effects in the US retail channel,” the company said.
“2024 was a pivotal year for Beyond Meat,” said president and CEO Ethan Brown. “We returned to year-over-year net revenue growth in the second half, meaningfully expanded gross margin compared to the prior year, sharply reduced operating expenses, and delivered a significant year-over-year improvement in adjusted EBITDA.”
More than half of Beyond Meat’s sales are in the US, though its international revenue grew 4.5% in the fourth quarter.
Its international foodservice division saw revenues rise 9.2% to $19.3m as it expanded more chicken mimic products into McDonald’s across the EU.
This offset a decline in international retail where falling volumes meant sales dropped 1.7% to $13.1m, despite the introduction of Smash burgers at Tesco.
The company is now forecasting its global revenue will be between $320m and $335m in 2025, falling short of analysts’ estimates. In 2024, its revenue fell 4.9% to $326.5m.
Following the results, its share price fell 5%. It is down over 50% in the past year.
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