ATLANTA – PepsiCo is laying off headquarters workers from its North American snack and beverage units, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), in a sign that corporate reductions are beginning to extend beyond technology and media companies.

The New York-based company will dismiss hundreds of employees, WSJ reported on Monday, citing an internal memo.

PepsiCo described the layoffs as intended to “simplify” the organisation, WSJ said.

PepsiCo spokesmen did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company’s shares edged up 0.1 per cent in after-hours trading on Monday.

Even though it is paying more for commodities such as sugar, corn and potatoes and passing those higher prices on to consumers, the maker of Frito-Lay chips, Mountain Dew soft drinks and Quaker Oats cereals has said that demand for its products remains strong.

Nevertheless, the uncertain economic environment and persistence of inflation has rattled companies in a variety of industries and led them to retrench on costs. National Public Radio is restricting hiring and Warner Bros Discovery’s CNN is cutting jobs, as are several other media giants.

Meanwhile, big tech companies including Amazon.com, Apple and Meta Platforms are dismissing thousands of workers. BLOOMBERG