The world’s biggest food and beverage multinational company, Nestlé, announced on Thursday, October 16, 2025, that it plans to axe thousands of jobs globally.
As reported by the BBC, the Swiss food giant CEO, Philipp Navratil, announced that Nestlé will eliminate 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years.
The announcement of mass layoffs came as the company published nine-month figures showing Nestlé's sales down by 1.9% to 71 billion euros.
While reviewing the new reports, the CEO Navratil said, “The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster.”
The multinational company informs that global cuts are expected as it automates its processes and focuses more on operational efficiency.
“This will include making hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount over the next two years,” said Nestlé’s CEO.
Nestle informs that the job cuts will primarily affect the white-collar workers.
Around 4,000 other positions are expected to be cut from manufacturing and supply chain departments.
Nestle also mentioned job cuts from some prominent daughter companies like Nescafé, Cheerios, KitKat, and Rolos after consultation.
Furthermore, a Nestlé spokesperson said, “At this point, we are not in a position to give concrete figures for individual markets.”
While its market update said the reductions will be across functions and geographies.
Nestle employs 277,000 people worldwide, and savings from the cull are said to save roughly £934m a year.
Nestlé operates factories, distribution centers, and offices throughout England, Scotland, and Wales; however, the corporate announcement did not clarify how these developments will affect the British workforce.
Additionally, Nestle’s new chief executive, Philipp Navratil, in his first major structural announcement, said that the number of staff will be reduced with respect and transparency, involving hard but necessary decisions since his appointment.
"As Nestle moves forward, we will be rigorous in our approach to resource allocation, prioritizing the opportunities and businesses with the highest potential returns," Navratil said.
"We are fostering a culture that embraces a performance mindset, that does not accept losing market share, and where winning is rewarded,” he added.
The company believes that this restructuring is anticipated to save the firm around one billion Swiss francs (£940 m) annually by the end of 2027.
Nestle's share price was up 7.5% shortly after its trading update and job cuts were announced.
Equity analyst Diana Radu said the update signaled that Navratil wants to "bring greater transparency to areas that were previously more opaque in Nestle's cost-saving plans".
“The job cuts appear to be an effort to "reset expectations and rebuild investor confidence through measurable actions," said Diana.
