Anheuser-Busch Lays Off Hundreds In Wake Of Bud Light Trans Controversy

Bud Light is continuing to feel a backlash that refuses to die following its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer whose image was put on a Bud Light beer can to celebrate “365 Days of Girlhood.”

The initial Dylan Mulvaney announcement took place on April 1 (ironically April Fool’s Day) and in spite of Anheuser-Busch’s desperate efforts to put the matter to bed the brand has been experiencing serious sales declines ever since then.

By the end of May Bud Light was dethroned as the nation’s #1 beer by Modelo Especial, a Mexican beer brand that’s part of the Anheuser-Busch family everywhere in the world except in the US, where it brewed south of the border by Constellation Brands who sell it in the US.

Bud Light Sales continue to struggle and on July 26 Anheuser-Busch announced that it would start laying off US employees according to CNN.

In a statement, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said the restructuring “will simplify and reduce layers within its organization.” The layoffs will not include frontline staff such as “brewery and warehouse staff, drivers, and field sales, among others.”

The job eliminations represent “less than 2%” of the Anheuser-Bush US employee population, the statement said.

And given that the company’s website says that it employs more than 19,000 employees nationwide, Two percent of that number would be around 380 positions.

According to the Wall Street Journal “the restructuring will eliminate corporate and marketing roles at major US offices, including in St. Louis, New York, and Los Angeles.”

“Today we took the very difficult but necessary decision to eliminate a number of positions across our corporate organization,” said Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth. “While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success.”

Social media has been calling for Whitworth to resign ever since he released a formal statement (without specifically addressing its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney) that many felt was lackluster at best.

“And incompetent Anheuser-Busch Chief Executive Brendan Whitworth keeps his job. An affront to all Americans,” one user tweeted on Thursday in response to the announced layoffs.

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(Brendan Whitworth image credit: Anheuser-Busch)