A business review at Lion – owner of XXXX, Toohey’s, James Squire, and Little Creatures – could see hundreds of employees out of a job.
A report in The Australian Financial Review Weekend, said there was speculation up to 300 jobs could go.
A spokesperson for Lion told Food & Drink Business the business review was to identify priorities for the next three years, and then the structure and capabilities needed to deliver them.
Lion Group CEO Sam Fischer stepped into the role in July last year, having been Diageo Asia Pacific and Global Travel president.
In February, the company announced it had created a new chief growth officer role to drive growth in new avenues and strengthen Lion’s market position. Fischer said a standalone growth portfolio within the business would allow Lion to further prioritise investment in innovation and new market opportunities while continuing to grow its global brand portfolio.
The company’s chief marketing officer, Anubha Sahasrabuddhe was appointed to the position.
The spokesperson said the goal was to empower geographic business units and focus capital, marketing investment, and capability behind our brands and innovation.
The AFR said the company’s latest accounts showed a $300 million impairment and while gross profits rose ($983.3m in Dec22, up from $974.3m pcp), it posted a near $168 million net loss for the year, from a $128 million profit the year before.
“We are working through detailed organisation design and communicating transparently with our team as we move through this.
“This will require some tough choices and while we’ll be making significant investments, particularly in data, analytics and growth-orientated functions, unfortunately some roles will be made redundant,” they said.
Employees affected by the review will be offered redeployment opportunities wherever possible.
Where this is not possible, we will provide them with their full entitlements and a range of support services as they consider their next opportunity.
