Nestle, the Swiss food giant behind brands like Nespresso, Kit Kat, and Perrier, plans to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years, its new chief executive, Philipp Navratil, announced on Thursday.
Navratil, who became CEO in early September, said the company must adapt quickly to changing global conditions. “The world is changing, and Nestle needs to change faster,” he said in a statement, adding that the move involves “hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount.”
According to the company, about 12,000 of the cuts will affect white-collar workers, helping Nestle save about one billion Swiss francs ($1.26 billion). This comes in addition to 4,000 job cuts already in progress in its production and supply chain divisions.
The restructuring aims to raise the company’s total savings target to three billion Swiss francs by the end of 2027, up from 2.5 billion previously planned.
Nestle reported a 1.9 percent drop in sales to 65.9 billion Swiss francs ($83 billion) for the first nine months of 2025, though organic growth rose by 3.3 percent, driven mainly by price increases.
The company has faced internal and external challenges this year, including the dismissal of its former CEO over an office relationship and the unexpected exit of its chairman. It also continues to deal with fallout from a bottled water scandal that started in France in 2024.
Financial analysts say Navratil’s leadership will be key to restoring stability and investor confidence in the group, which has struggled with slowing growth since 2022.
