MW Brown-Forman laying off 648 people after stock price hits 10-year low and sales decline

By Steve Gelsi

Spirits maker cutting 12% of workforce as it outsources its barrel-making operation

Jack Daniels whiskey maker Brown-Forman Corp. said Tuesday it would cut 12% of its work force or about 648 jobs in the face of a 10-year-low in its stock price and four straight quarters of declining sales.

The move to reduce Brown-Forman's $(BF.A)$ $(BF.B)$ work force of 5,400 positions comes as younger consumers have been drinking less alcohol, while the Surgeon General recently recommended health warning labels for beer, wine and spirits.

Drinking has also been impacted by a move by some consumers in the 24 states where cannabis is legal to be "California sober" which means they avoid alcohol in favor of a substance that tends to produce less of a hangover.

Also read: Legal cannabis may be boosted by alcohol warning from surgeon general: analyst

Brown-Forman stock performance in 2024 marked the stock's worst showing since 1974 with a drop of 33.5%, according to FactSet data.

Brown-Forman's stock rose 1% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

"This organizational evolution will simplify and streamline Brown-Forman's structure, allowing it to become a more agile and efficient organization and reinvest in the capabilities, technologies, brands, and people that will drive future growth," the company said in a prepared statement.

The layoffs at Brown-Forman include 210 workers at its barrel-making operation in Louisville, Ky. called Brown-Forman Cooperage. It expects to get about $30 million from selling the business, with plans to source future barrels from an external supplier.

Brown-Forman said it will take up to $70 million in one-time costs for severance payments and other expenses related to the moves, which will save $70 million to $80 million a year going forward.

So far in 2025, Brown-Forman's stock has fallen 9.2%, while the S&P 500 has dipped about 0.8%.

-Steve Gelsi

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January 14, 2025 08:47 ET (13:47 GMT)

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