Nestlé will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years — about 6% of its workforce — as part of a major restructuring to boost growth and cut costs. The layoffs include 12,000 office roles and 4,000 manufacturing and supply chain positions.
“The world is changing and Nestlé needs to change faster,” said new CEO Philipp Navratil, who took over last month after the dismissal of Laurent Freixe. Navratil is accelerating a cost-saving plan to free up 3 billion Swiss francs (£2.8bn) by 2027 and promote a “performance-driven culture” focused on market share and innovation.
The maker of KitKat and Nescafé reported a 1.9% drop in sales to 65.9bn francs in the first nine months of the year, mainly due to currency effects, though organic growth rose 3.3%. Rising coffee and cocoa costs fueled inflation-led price increases.
Nestlé employs about 4,200 people in the UK and said it will focus on automation and efficiency but gave no country-specific job details. Analysts say Navratil’s bold cuts signal a break from “business as usual” as he tries to revive the company’s momentum.
