Diageo’s New CEO Dave Lewis Orders Job Cuts and Cost Reductions

Dave Lewis, Diageo’s new Chief Executive Officer, has made his first major move since he took charge earlier this year. In a direction to top executives, Lewis has asked them to describe jobs and costs to cut and to plan for an all-round reorganization. There is no official announcement of how many jobs are going to be lost yet, but an internal announcement is expected next week.

Lewis, often referred to as “Drastic Dave” for his cost‑cutting in Tesco and Unilever, is applying a similar approach at Diageo. The company, which owns iconic brands like Johnnie Walker and Guinness, has been struggling with weak sales in North America, its biggest market. Lewis has called this the company’s “biggest challenge” and has already introduced price cuts on tequila labels like Casamigos to regain lost ground.

And the restructuring plan does not only involve reductions in headcount. Executives have been asked to meet cost‑reduction targets in operations, supply chains and marketing. Lewis is seeking to stabilize margins and focus on growth opportunities that it will be able to do so with efficiency. Diageo has made clear that it is revamping its business model to be competitive and to deliver sustainable returns and will be providing more information to the public at Capital Markets Day on August 6, 2026.

Lewis’s aggressive tactics will help Diageo regain momentum in international markets, especially in North America, where competition is acute. But the prospect of job cuts may spark resistance from employees and unions, raising questions about morale and long‑term stability. Yet Lewis’s track record is that he is willing to take tough decisions to secure the company’s future.

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Dave Lewis’s advice to cut jobs and costs for Diageo marks a new era for Diageo. With restructuring going on and operational changes coming in, the company is going to be in the process of changing its structure and is going to leaner and sharper strategies to build on its global spirits marketplace in the world’s spirits industry. With restructuring and change, the company is going to change, but in the next weeks we will see how big this is and how it will affect the size of the impact of the changes on Diageo’s workforce and market performance.