The Commonwealth Foundation said the tax is “putting people out of work and raising the cost of groceries.”
Pepsi announced last week that it will lay off around 100 employees at distribution plants that supply the Philadelphia area. This is the latest blow for the city’s new beverage tax, which went into effect in January.
“Unfortunately, after careful consideration of the economic realities created by the recently enacted beverage tax, we have been forced to give notice that we intend to eliminate 80 to 100 positions, including frontline and supervisory roles,” Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said, according to Philly.com.
However, the layoffs could be quickly reversed if the beverage tax is abandoned, according to DeCecco.
“If the tax is struck down or repealed, we plan to bring people back to work,” DeCecco said, according to Reuters.