By Joshua Kirby

Heineken aims to slash thousands of jobs to reduce costs as it grapples with weak beer-market trends.

As part of a plan to save hundreds of millions of euros a year, the Dutch brewer said Wednesday that it would cut between 5,000 and 6,000 roles over the next two years, or up to 7% of its current workforce.

The plan to cut jobs comes as Heineken reported a 1.7% on-year drop in beer volumes in the last three months of 2025 against a pallid consumer backdrop. Volumes for the year as a whole fell 1.2%. In the key European market, volumes declined 3.4% in 2025, highlighting the challenges facing Heineken as it looks to get some momentum going.

Beer sales have been hit in recent years by higher costs for brewers and by dimming enthusiasm for drinking among consumers, with tighter purse strings exacerbated by growing health consciousness, especially among younger drinkers.

Industry analysts expect beer-volume growth to prove meager this year, despite a likely boost from the soccer World Cup due to be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico this summer.

And those tough trends aren't likely to ease anytime soon, Heineken's chief executive officer said.

"We remain prudent in our near-term expectations for beer market conditions," said Dolf van den Brink, who is set to step down from his role at the end of May.

The company last year said it was aiming to cut costs by up to half a billion euros a year as it battles to bolster its profits in the face of lower consumer demand, trade tariffs and global uncertainty.

Those headwinds have buffeted the beer industry as a whole. For 2025, Heineken's Danish rival Carlsberg reported an organic drop in volumes, and analysts expect market leader and Budweiser brewer AB InBev to do the same when it sets out its own results for the year on Thursday.

But Heineken, which alongside its namesake brand produces labels like Desperados and Amstel, has its own particular problems. The group has struggled to reposition itself strategically, and Van den Brink's surprise announcement last month that he would leave has added fresh uncertainty to the company's direction ahead.

Heineken's backyard in Europe remains a notable headwind, analysts at Bank of America told investors in a recent note.

"And the recent CEO announcement adds a degree of short-term uncertainty," BofA said.

The reduction in headcount should help Heineken save up to 500 million euros ($594.8 million) this year, the upper end of the company's midterm target for annual cost savings, the company said. That should contribute to growth in operating profit of between 2% and 6% this year.

"Our first priority is to accelerate growth, funded by stepped up productivity and operating model changes that will involve a significant cost intervention over the next two years," Van den Brink said.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 11, 2026 02:26 ET (07:26 GMT)

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