Nestlé is cutting 16,000 jobs globally to streamline operations, focus on high-return products, and shore up profitability under new CEO Philipp Navratil.
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Food and beverage giant Nestlé has announced that it will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years. These include 12,000 white-collar positions in management and office roles, and 4,000 additional roles within manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain departments.
The layoffs are part of a broader effort to streamline Nestlé’s workforce and focus investment on high-performing brands, and products with strong potential returns: coffee, confectionery, and premium goods.
The next step is to finish strategic portfolio reviews of its water and premium beverage businesses and its vitamins and supplements brands.
Nestlé’s restructuring aims to improve profitability and efficiency amid mounting pressures. The firm’s share price has fallen by about 35% since 2022. Sales growth also increased by only 2.2% in 2024 — its weakest number in years — although this notched up to 3.3% in the first nine months of this year. Reported net sales, affected by exchange rates, came to CHF 65.9 billion (€70.96bn) in the first nine months of 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 1.9%.
Meanwhile, rising external costs and trade barriers continue to squeeze margins, such as the US’ recent 39% import tariff on Swiss goods.
Still, the company expects the job cuts to generate annual savings of approximately 1 bn Swiss francs and contribute to an increased total cost-savings target of 3bn Swiss francs by the end of 2027.
“Management have grand ambitions to bring Nestle back to where it has historically been, but for now the company is a work in progress,” explained Chris Beckett, consumer staples analyst at Quilter Cheviot.
Management revolving door
Nestlé has also faced a period of management turmoil. Its former CEO, Laurent Freixe, was dismissed in September for failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a subordinate, which violated the company’s code of conduct.
Two weeks later, long-time chairman Paul Bulcke stepped down earlier than planned, and former Inditex CEO Pablo Isla was appointed as his successor.
Following Freixe’s dismissal, Philipp Navratil was named the new CEO. It was Navratil who then introduced the restructuring drive, arguing that Nestlé needs to “change faster” to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving global market. He considers a “performance mindset” a priority to retain market share.
But despite this management upheaval, the company reported stronger-than-expected financial results for the first nine months of 2025. Its organic sales increased across key categories, driven by higher prices in core items like Nescafé coffee, KitKat chocolate, and Maggi cooking products.
In the third quarter of 2025, Nestlé recorded a 1.5% increase in real internal growth, a result far above analyst expectations of 0.3%.
Investors also responded positively to the restructuring announcement, with Nestlé’s stock price rising over 8% by around midday on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the company remains optimistic, projecting stronger organic sales growth compared to 2024.
“Full year guidance has been reaffirmed so we should see ongoing sales growth improvement with an operating margin of 16% or better. The shares trade at a discount to the wider sector and this reflects the turnaround story the business is on. A few more quarters like this one may just help complete that story and put the company back on a trajectory of high quality growth”, said Beckett.
