Irn Bru maker AG Barr slams sugar tax and announces plans to shed 10 per cent of workforce
Irn Bru and Rubicon maker AG Barr today announced it will shed 10 per cent of its total workforce in a major company shake-up.
The “business-wide reorganisation” will lead to around 90 job losses, which will likely be concentrated in its commercial, supply chain and central operations, by the end of the current financial year.
AG Barr said that a one-off cost of £4m is associated with the restructure, but will save the company £3m a year.
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In its half-year results, also released today, the soft drinks firm posted a four per cent drop in revenue to £125.6m in the six months to 30 July.
Profit before tax, including an exceptional credit of £4.1m, rose 20 per cent to £21.1m, while its interim dividend increased five per cent year-on-year to 3.53p per share.
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The company said it is forecasting a year-on-year cost impact of around £3m to £4m in 2017 as a result of the devaluation of sterling in the wake of the Brexit vote.
AG Barr also slammed the UK’s soft drinks levy, dubbed the sugar tax, calling it “a punitive and unnecessary distortion to competition in the UK market which will be very complex, expensive and difficult to implement”.
The firm said it will "participate fully" in the sugar tax consultation, which was launched in August.