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Nestle shares surged Thursday after the food giant announced plans to cut 16,000 jobs globally over the next two years. The move, aimed at streamlining operations and adapting to a changing market, represents a reduction of approximately six percent of Nestle's workforce. Newly appointed CEO Philipp Navratil stated that these "hard but necessary decisions" were essential for the company's future. The news propelled the Zurich stock market to the best performing in Europe.
Navratil spoke as the company published nine-month figures showing sales down by 1.9 percent to 65.9 billion Swiss francs ($83 billion).
The layoffs include 12,000 white-collar jobs over the next two years, saving the company one billion Swiss francs -- which it said was double what had been previously planned. Another 4,000 job cuts are already underway in production and the supply chain. Navratil said Nestle was increasing its savings target to three billion Swiss francs by the end of 2027, up from the previous target of 2.5 billion.
Nestle, which owns more than 2,000 brands, including KitKat chocolate bars, Maggi seasonings and Purina dog food, experienced a turbulent September, with the dismissal of its previous CEO over an office relationship. That was followed by the earlier-than-expected departure of its chairman. Nestle has also been rocked by a scandal surrounding its bottled water brands that erupted in France in 2024.
Financial analysts hope that Navratil will succeed in restoring stability to the group, which has seen its growth falter since 2022.
The decline in the headline sales figure was partly due to currency swings. Organic sales growth amounted to 3.3 percent in the first nine months of 2025, driven by price increases of 2.8 percent.
"Results are starting to come through. Now we must do more and move faster to accelerate our growth momentum," said Navratil.
The company said coffee and confectionery contributed the most to organic growth, with double-digit price increases in some markets.
