The ongoing boycott of Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch products has forced the company to lay off hundreds of employees as sales continue to slump.
The terminations represent nearly 2% of the 18,000 Anheuser-Busch (AB) workers in the U.S., reported The Wall Street Journal. Most of those fired were at the corporate level rather than factory employees.
“While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success,” AB Chief Executive Brendan Whitworth explained, per WSJ. “These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best— brewing great beer for everyone.”
As The Dallas Express reported, Anheuser-Busch has been reeling for months after a marketing initiative with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney sparked a long-lasting national boycott. Sales plummeted and have failed to recover as consumers shifted to other brands.
Mulvaney, a biological male living as a transgender woman, has also turned on the company, saying, “I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me but they never did, and for months now I’ve been scared to leave my house.”
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” Mulvaney continued.
In a statement published by NBC News, Anheuser-Busch responded, “As we’ve said, we remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.”
“The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers.”
Still, consumption had declined by 31.3% year over year in the week ending June 24, as The Dallas Express reported. The ripple effect was felt in associated layoffs shortly thereafter, for instance, at the glass bottling company that closed two factories and left 645 workers without jobs.
The layoffs come shortly after the Beer Institute’s Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB) voted that Bud Light’s marketing stunt with Mulvaney did not violate industry advertising standards concerning marketing to minors.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) had filed a complaint with the CCRB claiming that the marketing by Bud Light implicitly and improperly targeted people under the age of 18 based on demographic data of Mulvaney’s social media reach, as reported by The Dallas Express.
While the majority of the review board voted not to sustain the violation, board member and attorney Paul Summers issued a scathing dissent of the marketing campaign in support of Cruz’s filing.
“Dylan Mulvaney has a persona wherein the actor looks and acts like a little girl. Mulvaney appeals to little children and often behaves like one,” Summers wrote. “The entertainer enjoyed being accepted by young children. … and caters to very young people.”
“The brewer knew, or should have known, the consequences of sending the can of beer to Mulvaney or in some other way partnering with the actor,” he claimed. “The consequences to the company, employees, and its shareholders have been incalculable.”
“Anheuser-Busch’s actions are inconsistent with the guidelines in the Code,” Summers continued. “The company has violated the Beer Institute’s Code.”