Beyond Meat executive accused of biting man's nose is leaving company
Beyond Meat said Chief Operating Officer Doug Ramsey is leaving the company, a departure that comes after the executive allegedly bit another man's nose outside a football game.
In a regulatory filing, Beyond Meat said Ramsey's last day of employment is October 14. The company also said it is cutting 200 employees, or about 19% of its workforce, amid a sales slump as consumers shift away from plant-based meat alternatives.
Ramsey's departure comes after he was suspended following the alleged nose-biting incident, when he was charged with felony battery and making a terroristic threat. The fracas occurred outside a football game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Missouri State Bears in Fayetteville, Arkansas, according to a police report obtained by CBS News.
Ramsey was attempting to leave the game in his Bronco when another driver tried to inch in front and made contact with Ramsey's vehicle, according to the report. Ramsey allegedly got out of his car and punched the driver of the other car.
"Mr. Ramsey also bit the owner's nose, ripping the flesh on the tip of the nose," the officer wrote in the report.
Inflation blame
The El Segundo, California-based company, which is known for its plant-based burgers and other products that mimic the taste of meat, said in a Friday statement that its sales for 2022 will likely decline as much as 14% from the prior year.
The company blamed "ongoing softness in the plant-based meat category overall," and said that inflation is an underlying issue as it is prompting consumers to buy "cheaper forms of protein, including animal meat."
Inflation rose 8.2% in September from a year ago, with food costs surging 11.2%, the government said on Thursday. Although price gains are decelerating, those improvements have been slow and inflation remains stubbornly high.
The job cuts are an effort to reduce costs "given current economic conditions," Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said in the statement.
He added, "The global climate crisis underway dictates greater, not less, urgency in the adoption of all solutions of which ours is among the most immediate and powerful."
