Impossible Foods, manufacturer of plant-based meat alternatives, is laying off 20 percent of its workforce. This will be the third wave of layoffs at Impossible in just the last year, and marks another wretched milestone for the beleaguered company which has continually failed to justify its own hype.
The fresh round of cuts was reported on Monday by Bloomberg, citing an unnamed source. If the cuts go as deep as the source claims, around 140 of the company’s 700 staff will go. The move comes off the back of attempts to reduce the company’s headcount through voluntary buyouts. So far, the company has not responded.
Impossible Foods maintains it is simply streamlining its business so that it can continue to “hyper grow”. A number of key executives have left the company over the past year, and former CEO Pat Brown is on leave until the spring. Brown’s replacement, Peter McGuinness, is trying to make the company fight smarter, with a particular focus on breaking down negative consumer perceptions of his company’s products.
This new strategy has included taking out a full-page advert in the New York Times to counter claims that plant-based meat alternatives are “just another fad”. The move came in response to a Bloomberg Businessweek cover story on the flagging fortunes of the industry.
The story, published in September, noted that “just a few years ago… plant-based meats were ascendant,” but “now, after once enjoying double-digit growth, sales in the plant-based meat category are not just flat but declining.”