Nestlé will cut about 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years as new CEO Philipp Navratil moves to simplify operations, boost efficiency, and expand automation, the company announced Thursday.
The job reductions include around 12,000 white-collar positions and 4,000 roles in manufacturing and supply chain, representing roughly 6% of Nestlé’s global workforce, the company said. Cuts will vary by region and are subject to consultation where applicable.
“We are transforming how we work,” Navratil wrote in a LinkedIn post accompanying the company’s nine-month sales report. “We are evolving and will simplify our organization and automate our processes. To that end, we are making the hard but necessary decision to reduce headcount globally over the next two years. We will do this with respect and transparency. We are also increasing our savings target to CHF 3 billion by the end of 2027.”
A Nestlé spokesperson told Fortune the initiative “is focused on transforming our ways of working, streamlining the organization and processes, and leveraging digitalization and automation.”
The company said the restructuring is part of its “Fuel for Growth” initiative, aimed at improving productivity and reallocating resources toward higher-return businesses. Nestlé expects the changes to generate CHF 1 billion in annual savings by 2027, with related restructuring costs about twice that amount.
Nestlé reported sales of CHF 65.9 billion for the first nine months of 2025, down 1.9% from a year earlier due to currency effects. However, organic growth rose 3.3%, driven by a 0.6% increase in real internal growth and 2.8% in pricing. Third-quarter organic growth accelerated to 4.3%.
“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” Navratil said in the company’s statement. “Along with other measures, we are working to substantially reduce our costs. The actions we are taking will secure Nestlé’s future as a leader in our industry.”
Navratil, who became CEO in September, succeeded Laurent Freixe, who stepped down after one year in the role.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Amazon is also preparing additional workforce cuts tied to automation initiatives, signaling a broader shift among major corporations toward cost reduction and digital integration.