A spokesperson for Hershey said on Thursday that the chocolate maker laid off a small number of its employees this week.
The move was made as part of organisational changes the company announced earlier this year when cocoa prices reached record highs.
A company spokesperson told Reuters that this week’s layoffs affected less than 1% of the roughly 20,000 employees at the maker of Hershey’s chocolate bars and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
In a statement related to the layoffs, Hershey said it remains focused on transforming its business.
The company said, ‘As part of that transformation, we are making meaningful changes to evolve our capabilities, systems and ways of working to become a leading snacking powerhouse.’
The Pennsylvania-based company announced in February that it would be cutting jobs and incurring costs related to a productivity initiative aimed at generating $300 million in savings by 2026.
It also aims to improve supply chain and manufacturing-related spending.
The chocolate-maker has hiked prices in its products to offset rising costs over the last several years.
Consumers continued to buy its popular snacks despite the increases, but sentiment has changed months.
In August, Hershey cut its annual profit and sales forecast, and reported a 17% drop in sales.
Hershey has also signalled it would hike prices again to offset rising cocoa costs, stemming from a bean disease in Africa.
