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Global consumer goods leader Nestlé stated it will eliminate 16,000 roles within the coming 24 months, as the recently appointed chief executive Philipp Navratil advances a strategy to prioritize products offering the “highest potential returns”.

The Swiss company must “change faster” to keep pace with a evolving marketplace and adopt a “achievement-focused approach” that refuses to tolerate ceding ground to competitors, according to the CEO.

He took over from former CEO the previous leader, who was let go in the ninth month.

The job cuts were revealed on the fourth weekday as the corporation announced improved revenue numbers for the first three-quarters of 2025, with higher sales across its primary segments, such as coffee and sweets.

The biggest food & beverage company, this industry leader operates hundreds of brands, among them well-known names in coffee and snacks.

The company plans to get rid of twelve thousand white collar positions on top of four thousand other roles throughout the organization within the next two years, it announced publicly.

The workforce reduction will save the corporation about 1bn SFr (£940m) each year as within an sustained expense reduction program, it confirmed.

Nestlé's share price increased seven and a half percent soon after its trading update and job cuts were announced.

Nestlé's leader stated: “We are fostering a culture that adopts a achievement-oriented approach, that refuses to tolerate market share declines, and where achievement is incentivized... The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster.”

Such change would encompass “tough but required decisions to cut staff numbers,” he added.

Financial expert Diana Radu stated the update signalled that Mr Navratil wants to “bring greater transparency to aspects that were formerly less clear in the company's efficiency strategy.”

The job cuts, she noted, are likely an initiative to “recalibrate projections and restore shareholder trust through concrete measures.”

Mr Navratil's predecessor was dismissed by Nestlé in the start of last fall subsequent to an inquiry into internal complaints that he failed to report a personal involvement with a junior employee.

Its departing chairman the ex-chairman brought forward his exit timeline and left his post in the corresponding timeframe.

Media stated at the period that stakeholders attributed responsibility to Mr Bulcke for the company's ongoing problems.

In the prior year, an inquiry revealed infant nutrition items from the company sold in developing nations included unhealthily high levels of sweeteners.

The analysis, by a Swiss NGO and the International Baby Food Action Network, established that in several situations, the equivalent goods marketed in wealthy countries had zero additional sweeteners.

• Nestlé manages numerous product lines globally.
• Workforce reductions will affect sixteen thousand employees during the next two years.
• Cost reductions are projected to total CHF 1 billion each year.
• Share price increased significantly after the announcement.