After reporting another quarterly decline in its cereal business, Kellogg Co., said Monday that it will cut seven percent of its workforce by 2017.
The world’s largest breakfast cereal maker says the cuts are part of an overall plan to trim costs, in a four-year company initiative called “Project K” — not to be confused with its cereal “Special K.” The cuts will total about 2,000 jobs, Bloomberg reports. The company had about 31,000 employees as of late last year.
Sales in the company’s morning food business, which is made up of cereals like Froot Loops, All-Bran, and Coco Pops, fell 2.2 percent in the third quarter. One of the reasons for the sales drop is likely tough competition from other big-name breakfast players like General Mills, as well as the rising popularity of other morning fare like Greek yogurt.
Even though more than 90 percent of U.S. households buy cereals, Bloomberg reports that sector of the market has been getting smaller for the last three years.