Coca-Cola Announces Layoffs -- Sponsor Spotlight

(ATR) Worldwide Olympic Partner Coca-Cola plans layoffs as part of a restructuring in the face of declining sales during the pandemic.

The company on Friday did not say how many jobs would be cut, but will first offer buyouts to 4,000 employees in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico before taking a similar voluntary program to its workforce in other countries.

The number of involuntary layoffs will depend on how many people take the buyouts.

Coke said the overall global severance programs were expected to range from approximately $350 million to $550 million.

The company employed about 86,200 people as of Dec. 31, with about 10,000 of those located in the United States.

As part of the restructuring, Coke says it will reduce the number of operating units within the business from 17 to nine.

The Coca-Cola Company has the longest continuous corporate relationship with the Olympic Movement, having sponsored every Olympic Games since 1928 in Amsterdam. Last year, it extended its partnership with the IOC until 2032.

Cyprus NOC Reaches Sponsorship Goal

The Cyprus Olympic Committee (KOE) says its "Adopt an Athlete on the Road to Tokyo" program has fully achieved its goal in 15 months.

More than €300,000 ($356,720) has been raised for athletes participating in or planning to take part in Tokyo 2020.

The KOE launched the program in May 2019 to provide additional sponsorships for athletes. The NOC does not receive any of the money but only operates as the link between athletes and the companies, organizations and bodies who want to "adopt" them.

So far, the KOE says a large number of the sponsors for the program had not been previously active in supporting Cypriot sports.

"I would like to congratulate all those who work hard for the success of this endeavor," KOE president Dinos Michailidis said in a statement.

"Our goal at KOE is the development, promotion and protection of the Olympic Movement in Cyprus and programs such as "Adopt" give us the opportunity to achieve our goals, for the benefit exclusively of athletes."

The program has been extended now that the Games have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The manager of the program, Andri Sialou, calls the delay an "opportunity" and invited "other companies and organizations to come together and "adopt" our athletes on the way to Tokyo!"

Written by Gerard Farek

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