Global food giant Nestlé SA has announced plans to eliminate 16,000 jobs worldwide as newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Philipp Navratil accelerates
a sweeping turnaround strategy to restore growth and investor confidence, said a report by Bloomberg. The job cuts , representing roughly 6% of Nestlé’s global workforce , will take place over the next two years, the company said Thursday. The move is part of a broader cost-reduction plan that aims to save 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.7 billion) by 2027, up from an earlier target of 2.5 billion francs. “The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” Navratil said in a company statement. “This will include making hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount.” Leadership Turmoil and New Direction The announcement comes just weeks after Nestlé appointed Philipp Navratil, a 20-year company veteran and former head of its Nespresso business, as CEO. Navratil succeeded Laurent Freixe, who was ousted barely a year into his term following allegations of concealing a romantic relationship with a subordinate. The scandal also triggered an early exit for Chairman Paul Bulcke, who was replaced by Pablo Isla, the former CEO of Inditex SA , the parent company of Zara. The shake-up marks one of the most turbulent leadership transitions in Nestlé’s history, shaking a corporation long known for its conservative and stable management culture. Stronger Sales but Fragile Confidence Alongside the restructuring announcement, Nestlé reported a 4.3% rise in third-quarter sales, beating market expectations. The growth was driven by higher prices and an improvement in real internal growth , a key measure of sales volume watched closely by analysts. “Although still very fragile, we believe that this set of results will help Nestlé partly restore investors’ trust,” said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, analyst at Vontobel to Bloomberg. In premarket trading at Julius Baer, Nestlé shares were up 3.4%, extending their modest 1.7% gain so far this year. Still, the company’s performance lags behind the 8% increase in the Swiss Market Index, underscoring the urgency of Navratil’s turnaround. New CEO’s Priorities: Focus, Efficiency, and Growth Navratil told reporters that his top priority is to accelerate real internal growth and streamline Nestlé’s vast product portfolio. He signaled continuity with his predecessor’s plans, including boosting advertising, focusing on fewer but larger product launches, and divesting underperforming businesses such as certain vitamin brands and the bottled water unit , which was previously spun off as a standalone entity. “We welcome Navratil’s ambition to foster a culture that does not accept losing market share and where winning is rewarded,” said James Edwardes Jones, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, adding that the improvement in sales volume growth “was particularly important for investors.” Importantly, any job losses resulting from divestments will not count toward the 16,000 planned reductions, Navratil clarified. A New Era for Nestlé The sweeping layoffs and renewed cost-cutting drive mark the start of a new chapter for Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, known for brands such as KitKat, Nespresso, Maggi, and Nescafé. With consumer habits shifting rapidly, competition intensifying, and investor patience thinning, Navratil’s challenge is to balance agility with stability , and to prove that the 157-year-old Swiss conglomerate can reinvent itself for a faster, leaner era.
