Nestle to sack 16,000 workers

The world’s largest packaged food company Nestle has announced that it will sack 16,000 workers.

Nestle Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Philipp Navratil announced this in a statement on Thursday, October 16, 2025.

The jobs being cut represent 5.8% of the company’s around 277,000 employees.

Navratil said the company had raised its cost savings target to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.77 billion) from 2.5 billion francs by the end of 2027.

United States import tariffs are a headwind for Nestle, despite the bulk of the company’s U.S. sales being manufactured locally, while food producers across the board are grappling with fragile consumer confidence and changing habits as people seek to eat more healthily.

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“The world is changing, and Nestle needs to change faster,” Navratil said.

Nestle, whose shares leapt by around 8% in early trading, has experienced an unprecedented period of managerial turmoil, with Navratil replacing Laurent Freixe, who was fired in September as chief executive over an undisclosed relationship with a direct report.

Chairman Paul Bulcke then stepped down early to make way for former Inditex chief Pablo Isla two weeks later.

Navratil said the 12,000 white-collar job cuts over the next two years, in addition to a further 4,000 headcount reduction as part of ongoing initiatives in manufacturing and the supply chain, were part of an efficiency push.

The Star