Coca-Cola Cans Up To 1,800 Jobs Worldwide

The drinks firm Coca-Cola has announced plans to cut up to 1,800 jobs in a cost-saving attempt.

The US company, which has reported falling sales of its products which also include Sprite and Powerade, had previously announced a streamlining of its global operations in a bid to save $3bn annually by 2019.

A spokeswoman confirmed that between 1,600 and 1,800 workers, out of a workforce of 130,000, were now in the process of being contacted.

She said: "As part of our recently announced, multi-year productivity initiatives, we are redesigning our operating model to streamline and simplify our structure and accelerate the growth of our global business.

"As we have acknowledged previously, this redesign work will result in impacts to jobs across our global operations."

The losses were to be felt at its corporate headquarters in Atlanta (BSE: ATLANTA.BO - news) , as well as in Coca-Cola's North American and international divisions.

Coca-Cola has struggled with weak sales in its home US market and beyond amid concerns on the link between many soft drink products and obesity.

Its global sales were down 2% for the first nine of months of 2014.