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Food and beverage giant Nestlé announced it will eliminate 16,000 jobs within the coming 24 months, as the recently appointed chief executive Philipp Navratil advances a plan to concentrate on products offering the “greatest profit margins”.

The Swiss company must “adapt more quickly” to remain competitive in a changing world and embrace a “performance mindset” that refuses to tolerate losing market share, according to the CEO.

He took over from ex-chief executive Laurent Freixe, who was let go in September.

These workforce reductions were made public on Thursday as Nestlé shared stronger sales figures for the initial three quarters of 2025, with increased revenue across its primary segments, encompassing beverages and confectionery.

The biggest food & beverage firm, Nestlé operates hundreds of labels, like Nescafé, KitKat and Maggi.

Nestlé plans to get rid of 12,000 professional positions on top of four thousand other roles company-wide during the next biennium, it said in a statement.

The lay-offs will save the corporation approximately one billion Swiss francs annually as part of an sustained expense reduction program, it confirmed.

The company's stock value rose seven and a half percent following its trading update and job cuts were made public.

Mr Navratil commented: “We are building a corporate environment that adopts a results-driven attitude, that refuses to tolerate losing market share, and where achievement is incentivized... The world is changing, and we must adapt more rapidly.”

This transformation would include “tough but required choices to reduce headcount,” he said.

Financial expert Diana Radu said the update signalled that Mr Navratil wants to “bring greater transparency to sectors that were previously more opaque in its expense reduction initiatives.”

The job cuts, she explained, seem to be an effort to “recalibrate projections and regain market faith through measurable actions.”

His forerunner was sacked by Nestlé in the beginning of the ninth month subsequent to an inquiry into whistleblower allegations that he did not disclose a personal involvement with a immediate staff member.

Its departing chairman the ex-chairman accelerated his departure date and stepped down in the same month.

Media stated at the moment that stakeholders held accountable the former chairman for the company's ongoing problems.

The previous year, an study found infant nutrition items from the company sold in low- and middle-income countries had unhealthily high levels of sweeteners.

The research, carried out by advocacy groups, found that in numerous instances, the equivalent goods sold in wealthy countries had zero additional sweeteners.

• Nestlé manages a wide array of labels globally.
• Workforce reductions will affect sixteen thousand staff members over the upcoming biennium.
• Expense cuts are projected to total 1bn SFr each year.
• Stock value increased significantly post the news.