Nestlé to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years

Thursday 16 October 2025 - 08:30

By: Sahili Aya

Nestlé to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years

Nestlé’s new CEO has announced a global workforce reduction of 16,000 jobs, representing 5.7% of its total employees, over the next two years. The decision comes as part of a broader effort to adapt to a rapidly changing market and to boost efficiency amid slowing growth.

The announcement was made Thursday as the Swiss food giant reported a 1.9% drop in sales for the first nine months of the year, totaling 65.9 billion Swiss francs (€71 billion). “The world is changing, and Nestlé must adapt faster,” said Philipp Navratil, who took over as CEO in early September. “This means making difficult but necessary decisions to reduce our workforce,” he added in a company statement.

The restructuring plan includes the elimination of 12,000 office positions across multiple regions and departments, expected to generate 1 billion francs in annual savings by the end of 2027 — double the previously planned amount.

An additional 4,000 jobs will be cut as part of ongoing initiatives to improve productivity in manufacturing and supply chains. “We are raising our savings target to 3 billion francs, up from 2.5 billion previously,” Navratil said.

Nestlé, which owns over 2,000 brands — including Nescafé, Maggi, and Kit Kat — has faced internal turbulence in recent months. September saw the dismissal of former CEO Laurent Freixe and the early departure of chairman Paul Bulcke. Analysts hope Navratil, previously head of Nespresso, can restore stability to the company, which has struggled since the inflation wave of 2022 and a recent bottled water scandal.