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Global consumer goods leader the Swiss conglomerate has declared it will remove 16,000 positions within the coming 24 months, as the recently appointed chief executive Philipp Navratil pushes a strategy to focus on products offering the “greatest profit margins”.

The Swiss company needs to “change faster” to remain competitive in a evolving marketplace and implement a “results-oriented culture” that does not accept losing market share, said Mr Navratil.

He took over from ex-chief executive Laurent Freixe, who was dismissed in last fall.

These workforce reductions were revealed on the fourth weekday as the corporation shared stronger sales figures for the first nine months of 2025, with higher revenue across its key product lines, encompassing beverages and confectionery.

The biggest consumer packaged goods firm, this industry leader operates numerous product lines, like Nescafé, KitKat and Maggi.

The company aims to eliminate twelve thousand administrative roles alongside 4,000 additional positions company-wide during the next biennium, it stated officially.

The lay-offs will save the consumer goods leader around 1bn SFr (£940m) each year as a component of an sustained expense reduction program, it said.

The company's stock value rose by more than seven percent following its performance report and job cuts were announced.

Mr Navratil commented: “We are fostering a corporate environment that welcomes a performance mindset, that will not abide competitive setbacks, and where achievement is incentivized... The marketplace is evolving, and we must adapt more rapidly.”

Such change would encompass “hard but necessary actions to reduce headcount,” he added.

Market analyst a financial commentator said the announcement indicated that the new CEO aims to “enhance clarity to sectors that were previously more opaque in Nestlé's cost-saving plans.”

The job cuts, she noted, appear to be an initiative to “reset expectations and rebuild investor confidence through tangible steps.”

Mr Navratil's predecessor was terminated by Nestlé in the beginning of the ninth month after an investigation into internal complaints that he failed to report a romantic relationship with a immediate staff member.

The company's outgoing chair Paul Bulcke brought forward his leaving schedule and left his post in the same month.

It was reported at the period that stakeholders attributed responsibility to the outgoing leader for the firm's continuing challenges.

Last year, an study revealed Nestlé baby food products marketed in emerging markets had unhealthily high levels of sweeteners.

The study, carried out by advocacy groups, found that in many cases, the same products sold in wealthy countries had zero additional sweeteners.

• Nestlé manages numerous brands globally.
• Workforce reductions will impact 16,000 staff members throughout the upcoming biennium.
• Cost reductions are estimated to total CHF 1 billion each year.
• Stock value climbed seven and a half percent following the announcement.