• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, Yesterday

Procter & Gamble, long viewed as the gold standard in global brand-building, says it will eliminate 7,000 non-manufacturing jobs—roughly 15% of that part of its workforce—over the next two years.

Executives announced the restructuring at the Deutsche Bank Global Consumer Conference in Paris, describing it as a strategic reorganization to fuel productivity, streamline teams, and position the company for long-term growth. But the context is harder to ignore: inflation, softening consumer demand, and a resurgence of tariff pressure are straining even the most resilient marketers.

“Consumers face greater uncertainty. Competition is fierce. The geopolitical environment is unpredictable,” the company said in its presentation. P&G also warned it may have to raise prices or adjust product formulations in response to tariff-driven cost increases.

While the company insists the layoffs aren’t about cutting costs, CFO Andre Schulten said the changes are designed to support what he called P&G’s “long-term algorithm.” Still, he acknowledged the current headwinds. “This restructuring program is an important step toward ensuring our ability to deliver…over the coming two to three years,” he said, as quoted in The Guardian. “It does not, however, remove the near-term challenges that we currently face.”

The cuts come as P&G, which had 108,000 global employees as of June 2024, continues to experience sluggish growth in key markets. In its most recent quarter, North American organic sales rose just 1%, and the company lowered its fiscal-year forecast in April.

Tariffs are playing a growing role in that pressure. CNBC noted that “Trump’s tariffs have presented another challenge,” with rising costs across raw materials, packaging, and some finished goods imported from China.

P&G says it will share more details about the brand and market exits in its July earnings call. But the broad strokes are clear: smaller teams, broader roles, and more automation.

The job cuts are a sharp signal to brand marketers and CPG execs alike: Even the most disciplined player—the one everyone studied in business school—is being forced to rethink how it competes in today’s volatile economy.