🔗 Share this article

Corporate Image

Food and beverage giant Nestlé announced it will cut 16,000 roles during the upcoming biennium, as its new CEO Philipp Navratil pushes a plan to focus on products offering the “greatest profit margins”.

The Swiss company must “change faster” to keep pace with a evolving marketplace and embrace a “achievement-focused approach” that rejects declining competitive position, said Mr Navratil.

He took over from former CEO Laurent Freixe, who was dismissed in September.

The layoff announcement were made public on Thursday as Nestlé announced better sales figures for the initial three quarters of 2025, with higher product movement across its key product lines, such as hot drinks and snacks.

The world's largest packaged food and drink corporation, this industry leader manages hundreds of labels, like its coffee, chocolate, and food brands.

Nestlé aims to remove twelve thousand administrative roles alongside 4,000 additional positions across the board within the next two years, it stated officially.

These job cuts will save the food giant around 1bn SFr (£940m) annually as part of an ongoing cost-savings effort, it confirmed.

Nestlé's share price rose by more than seven percent shortly after its trading update and job cuts were announced.

The CEO commented: “We are fostering a corporate environment that adopts a performance mindset, that does not accept competitive setbacks, and where success is recognized... The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster.”

Such change would encompass “hard but necessary actions to cut staff numbers,” he added.

Market analyst an industry specialist stated the update suggested that Nestlé's leader wants to “enhance clarity to areas that were formerly less clear in the company's efficiency strategy.”

The job cuts, she explained, are likely an effort to “reset expectations and regain market faith through measurable actions.”

His forerunner was sacked by the company in early September subsequent to an inquiry into reports from staff that he failed to report a romantic relationship with a junior employee.

The former board leader Paul Bulcke brought forward his exit timeline and stepped down in the corresponding timeframe.

It was reported at the moment that stakeholders attributed responsibility to Mr Bulcke for the firm's continuing challenges.

Last year, an inquiry found infant nutrition items from the company available in low- and middle-income countries had undesirably high quantities of added sugars.

The study, by a Swiss NGO and the International Baby Food Action Network, found that in several situations, the identical items available in wealthy countries had zero additional sweeteners.

• The corporation manages hundreds of product lines internationally.
• Layoffs will impact sixteen thousand staff members over the upcoming biennium.
• Cost reductions are estimated to reach CHF 1 billion each year.
• Equity increased 7.5% following the update.