Nestlé, the world’s largest food manufacturing company, owns popular brands such as Toll House cookies, Nespresso coffee, Gerber baby products, and Perrier water. Nestlé appointed a new CEO in September 2025. Within a month of the leadership change, the company announced significant changes that will result in thousands of job losses worldwide.
Big changes
Philipp Navratil took over as CEO and has already revealed plans to eliminate thousands of jobs worldwide over the next two years as part of a sweeping cost-cutting and operational overhaul under its new leadership.
The total number of impacted jobs lies around 16,000 worldwide. The job cuts represent nearly 6–7% of Nestlé’s global workforce of around 277,000 employees. About 12,000 positions will come from white-collar roles across corporate functions, and 4,000 jobs will be eliminated in manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain operations as the company seeks to boost efficiency and productivity.
What Nestlé Makes and Its Global Reach
As the world’s largest packaged food company, Nestlé boasts a portfolio of more than 2,000 brands spanning coffee, candy, pet food, bottled water, and more. In addition to popular food brands such as KitKat bars, Toll House cookies, and Nescafé coffee, it owns Purina pet products and nutrition- and health-oriented segments, including infant formula and tube-feeding formulas.
Reason Behind the Cuts and Future Direction
CEO Navratil says the layoffs are part of the company’s “Fuel for Growth” efficiency program, aimed at simplifying Nestlé’s organizational structure, accelerating automation, and freeing up resources for growth areas. Nestlé also raised its cost-savings target to 3 billion Swiss francs by the end of 2027, up from an earlier goal of 2.5 billion.
The move comes amid sluggish sales growth, rising input costs, and recent leadership changes, including the dismissal of the previous CEO and early departure of the company’s chairman. Investors responded positively to the announcement, with Nestlé’s share price rising in the wake of the news.
Impact on Workers and Industry
The layoffs, one of the largest in Nestlé’s history, signal heightened cost pressures facing major food companies globally and reflect broader trends toward greater automation and efficiency. Employee advocacy groups have criticized the scope of the cuts, urging a balance between shareholder returns and worker welfare.
Nestle already laid off hundreds of employees at a US facility within recent years, so we’ll see how many more US jobs might be lost as a result of the decision.
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