Food Exec Brief: Job Cuts at Campbell’s, Record Low FDA Inspections, and Sugar Suppliers Sued

In this week’s Food Exec Brief, we’re covering:

• Campbell’s is cutting roughly 13% of its workforce and two snack plants to save $500M by FY2030, following a 33% net income drop and a 12% Q4 snacks decline.
• FDA foreign food inspections dropped 35% from 2019 levels to 1,140 sites in FY2025, falling well below the 19,000 mandated by Congress.
• General Mills, Mars, and McKee Foods filed a federal lawsuit accusing two major sugar suppliers of price-fixing from 2017 to 2024, and Canada’s counter-tariffs added 50% duties on US dairy.

Campbell’s drops 13% of its workforce, and Tyson’s beef forecast worsens

Campbell’s reported a net income of $403 million for fiscal 2026, down 33% year-over-year, on net sales of $9.74 billion, down 5%. The snacks segment drove most of the decline, with sales falling 12% in Q4 and 6% for the full year to $3.82 billion. The company posted a Q4 net loss of $69 million, compared to a $145 million profit in the same period a year prior. The stock fell 11% on the announcement. (Learn more)

Campbell’s is cutting about 13% of its staff, closing two snack plants, and reducing its dividend 36% to reach $500M in savings by FY2030, while prioritizing core brands. FY2027 guidance projects net sales down 2 to 4% and EPS down 17 to 24%. Meanwhile, Tyson Foods deepened its beef loss forecast to $625M to $775M and reduced operating income guidance to $1.85B to $2.05B, citing cattle shortages and volatile pricing. Whether these declining sales volumes are driven by broader macroeconomic trends or issues in brand execution remains to be seen. (Learn more)

FDA foreign inspections are 35% below 2019 levels

FDA foreign food inspections fell 35% from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2025, reaching just 1,140 sites last year against a congressional mandate of 19,000 annual inspections. The agency has 420 employees in its food inspection, with 10% to 15% of positions chronically unfilled. The all-time inspection high was 1,700 sites in 2019, less than 10% of the mandate. Recent federal budget cuts eliminated more than half the staff managing inspector travel logistics, leaving inspectors to book their own travel.

The result of these inspection challenges was evident with this summer’s Cyclospora outbreak. The outbreak was traced to Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce from Mexico, distributed to Target, Taco Bell, Whole Foods, Kroger, Walmart, Costco, and Jack in the Box. FDA inspectors reached the site a month post-recall. Unenforced FSMA traceability rules and delayed bar-coding timelines hindered the investigation and response. With persistent gaps in federal inspection capacity, manufacturers face higher, unpriced brand risk on international sourcing. (Learn more)

Food companies file a federal price-fixing suit against sugar suppliers, and Canada’s new tariffs pressure dairy

General Mills, Mars, and McKee Foods filed a federal lawsuit in Chicago, accusing United Sugar and ASR Group of coordinating a price-fixing scheme from 2017 to 2024. Defendants allegedly shared confidential competitive information via a third party to inflate granulated sugar prices. The three plaintiffs bought billions in granulated sugar during this time. A separate class action against the defendants is pending in Minnesota federal court. Domino Sugar owner ASR Group called the suit duplicative, while United Sugar did not comment. Depending on the outcome, the sugar suit may offer manufacturers a way to recover costs from unexplained price spikes. (Learn more)

Canada’s counter-tariffs, effective September 8, add more pressure on dairy ingredient sourcing. Ottawa imposed duties up to 50% on $27.6B in US goods (including 50% on dairy/powders/whey and 25% on cheese/curd), responding to US tariffs of 50% on ~$28B in Canadian goods from Aug 22. Dairy producers support the US stance, while the Farm Bureau warns against escalation, and pork producers highlight North American export reliance. No negotiation timeline exists. These tariffs create immediate sourcing shifts for flexible buyers. (Learn more)