Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light, confirmed this week is laying off hundreds of positions across its U.S. corporate staff after a crushing boycott from conservatives has sent sales of the beer to a startling low.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the beer maker said the layoffs will impact almost 2% of its workforce. Anheuser-Busch’s website says the company employs 19,000 employees nationwide. Warehouse staff, drivers and other frontline employees will not be affected, the company said.
The job cuts arrive during a rocky time for Anheuser-Busch, which has seen a months-long sales decline for Bud Light since April when conservative critics vowed to boycott the brand after the brewer endorsed transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The simultaneous spike in teenagers using social media and the rise in transgender influencers on those platforms has been linked to the alarming spike in gender dysphoria among minors.
Bud Light has also faced backlash from far-Left groups, who say the brand didn’t do enough to support Mulvaney.
When confirming this week’s layoffs, Anheuser-Busch cited restructuring needs and said the changes would “simplify and reduce layers” within the company’s organization.
“While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success,” CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a statement. “These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in the moments that matter.”
Anheuser-Busch did not share a timeline for the layoffs in its statement. But according to The Wall Street Journal, the restructuring has already eliminated marketing and corporate roles at major U.S. offices, including those in New York and Los Angeles.
Since the fallout of the Mulvaney partnership, Bud Light’s name has been brought into other anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns and controversies targeting separate brands — including Target, where transgender “tuck swimsuits” for small children were prominently featured in Pride retail displays.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article