Many Bud Light salespeople have experienced hostile encounters, taunts and lost business amid ongoing backlash after the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, according to a June 3 ABC News report.
Some Bud Light salespeople claim to have been honked at, ridiculed and flipped off, as angry conservatives continue to express their disapproval of the brand. Salespeople, who make the bulk of their money on commissions, have been particularly hard hit by the boycott against the beer brand.
“This has really, really killed a lot of the guys who are commission-based. That’s who it’s really hurting,” a supervisor told ABC News, “There’s nothing they could’ve done — this was thrown in their faces.” (RELATED: Bud Light Shells Out $200,000 To LGBT Business Org Amid Dylan Mulvaney Backlash, Cratering Sales)
The average salesperson made roughly $2,000 less in May 2023 than compared to two years prior, largely due to a drop in overall Bud Light sales. Memorial Day weekend sales of the brand plummeted over 60 percent, according to the Daily Mail. The typical Bud Light salesperson makes $60,000 per year with $20,000 in variable pay, which is largely tied to commissions.
Former Anheuser-Busch InBev executive Anson Frericks told ABC News he believes the brand might see “good people” depart because of the sales declines.
Bud Light salespeople receiving ‘middle fingers’ and ‘car horns’ as boycott passes seventh week: report https://t.co/43DsaK8oV6
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 5, 2023
Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris reportedly addressed to the boycott’s impact on delivery drivers, salespeople, and wholesalers on a recent earnings call.
“This situation has impacted our people and especially our frontline workers: The delivery drivers, sales representatives, our wholesalers, Bud owners and servers,” Doukeris said, according to ABC News. “These people are the fabric of our business. They are our neighbors, family members, and friends. They are in every community in America. We’ve been doing everything we can to support our teams.”
Bud Light has seen a precipitous and ongoing drop in sales since the Mulvaney partnership. The beer brand’s sales dropped 5.7 percent for the week of May 20, according to the New York Post. Sales volume also reportedly dropped 29.5 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2022, per the outlet. Anheuser-Busch InBev suffered a 20 percent stock price drop from the end of March to May 31, according to Forbes.