Procter & Gamble Announces Workforce Reductions Amid Global Restructuring Effort

Procter & Gamble (P&G), the multinational consumer goods company behind brands like Tide and Pampers, announced on Thursday that it will reduce its global workforce by approximately 7,000 jobs — about 6% of its total employees — over the next two years.

The job cuts are part of a broader restructuring plan aimed at streamlining operations and adjusting to an increasingly complex global economic environment.

The announcement was made during a presentation at the Deutsche Bank Consumer Conference in Paris, where P&G executives outlined efforts to make the company more agile by reducing layers of management and exiting some product categories in select markets. The cuts will primarily affect non-manufacturing roles, accounting for about 15% of those positions. The company employed roughly 108,000 people worldwide as of June 2024.

Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten emphasized that the restructuring is not a sudden shift in direction but an “intentional acceleration” of P&G’s ongoing strategy to remain competitive amid mounting economic pressures.

“We see more opportunities to make roles broader and teams smaller,” Schulten said, adding that the move supports the company’s long-term integrated growth plan.

The timing of the announcement coincides with growing uncertainty in global markets, partly stemming from tariff measures introduced by the US administration. President Donald Trump’s trade policies, including new tariffs on imports from key trading partners, have led to rising costs and shifting consumer behavior. P&G, which imports some raw materials and finished goods from abroad while producing most of its products domestically, has warned of a potential $600 million before-tax impact in fiscal year 2026 due to current tariff levels.

While executives stressed that the restructuring was not driven by any single factor, they acknowledged the challenges presented by trade uncertainty and geopolitical instability, including ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Consumer demand has weakened in recent months, prompting P&G to lower its sales and profit forecasts for 2025.

Other major corporations have also taken steps to recalibrate their operations in response to similar pressures. General Motors, Target, and Citigroup are among the firms that have recently revised earnings guidance or announced workforce reductions.

Despite a slight dip in P&G’s share price over the past year, investor response to the restructuring news was moderately positive, with shares ticking up 0.25% in premarket trading Thursday.

With input from the New York Times and CNN contributed to this report.