Roughly 19% of employees at Beyond Meat will soon be on the search for greener pastures as the company announced layoffs and the decision to fire former COO Doug Ramsey weeks after he allegedly bit a man’s nose.
The company, which produces plant-based meat substitutes, revealed in a regulatory filing that 200 workers will be dismissed as a result of “cost-reduction initiatives intended to reduce operating expenses.” Beyond Meat estimates “one-time cash charges of approximately $4 million in connection with the reduction in force, primarily consisting of notice period and severance payments, employee benefits and related costs” before it saves $27 million in operating expenses and $12 million in unvested stock-based compensation.
Shares in Beyond Meat fell nearly 7% to $13.77 as of Friday afternoon and have plummeted more than 87% over the past year.
Ramsey was charged with making terroristic threats and third-degree battery for allegedly biting a man in the nose. The incident involving the longtime food executive, who was appointed to lead operations at Beyond Meat last year, reportedly occurred in an Arkansas parking garage after a Subaru made contact with his front tire, leading Ramsey to exit his car and punch the back windshield. When the driver of the Subaru exited the vehicle, Ramsey allegedly began punching him before ripping the flesh of the man’s nose with his teeth.
Formerly an executive at Tyson Foods, where he led the company’s business with McDonald’s, Ramsey had expressed excitement about joining the vegan food distributor. Ramsey will be replaced by Jonathan Nelson, the company’s senior vice president of manufacturing operations, who will earn a base salary of $355,000.
“Beyond Meat is the gold standard in the plant-based meat industry and I am proud to join in its mission to produce delicious products that are healthier for our customers and more sustainable for our planet,” Ramsey said upon his appointment. “I’m thrilled to be a part of a company that is constantly innovating and delivering high-quality products to some of the world’s most prominent foodservice and retail customers.”
The United States has witnessed a lackluster economic recovery over the past two years under several disruptions, including labor shortages, supply chain bottlenecks, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all of which have contributed to worsening inflationary pressures. Beyond Meat is one of several companies to slow hiring or introduce layoffs.
Price levels rose 8.2% between September 2021 and September 2022, according to a Thursday report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, surpassing expectations despite harsh contractionary policy from the Federal Reserve. The month-to-month increase of 0.4% exceeded analysts’ forecasts, while core inflation, which factors out the more volatile food and energy categories, reached 0.6% against an estimate of 0.4%.
The most recent inflation report carries immediate implications for Democratic candidates’ prospects in the midterm elections. The economy and inflation are key issues among voters preparing to cast ballots, with 84% considering the former to be a top factor on their minds, according to a poll from ABC News and The Washington Post. The Republicans lead the Democrats by a 16% margin and a 19% margin with respect to trust in handling the economy and inflation, respectively.
