Nestlé cuts 16,000 jobs as part of an intensifying cost-cutting campaign

In this Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, file photo, Nestle's logo is displayed on a window, during the 2018 full-year results press conference of the food and drinks giant Nestle, in Vevey. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP, File)

Nestlé is cutting 16,000 jobs globally as the Swiss food giant cuts costs as part of its efforts to revive its financial performance.

Nestlé, which makes Nescafé, KitKats, pet foods and many other well-known consumer brands, said Thursday that the job cuts will take place over the next two years. The Swiss company also said that it is raising targeted cost cuts to 3 billion Swiss francs (US$3.76 billion) by the end of next year, up from a planned 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($3.13 billion).

It has been a turbulent year for the company, based Vevey, Switzerland. Last month, Nestle dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a subordinate.

Freixe had only been on the job for a year. He was replaced by Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive.

Shortly after Freixe was ousted, Chairman Paul Bulcke stepped down early.

Nestlé is also fighting a host of external headwinds like other food makers, including rising commodity costs and U.S. imposed tariffs. The company announced price hikes over the summer to offset higher coffee and cocoa costs.

U.S. President Donald Trump has implemented a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods like coffee and orange juice. The Trump administration imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian products in July, which was on top of a 10% tariff imposed earlier. Coffee habits in the U.S. are almost exclusively fueled by imports. Official U.S. government data shows Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer, supplies about 30 per cent of the American market, followed by Colombia at roughly 20 per cent and Vietnam at about 10 per cent. Tariff negotiations are ongoing.

The price of cocoa soared to record highs last year after inclement weather in areas where it is grown constrained supply and hit companies like Nestlé hard. While cocoa costs began to fall in 2025 as supply increased, cocoa is vastly more expensive than it was just two years ago.

Nestlé said Thursday that it will eliminate 12,000 white-collar positions in multiple locations. The job cuts are expected to achieve annual savings of 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.25 billion) by the end of next year. The company will cut 4,000 jobs as part of ongoing productivity initiatives in its manufacturing and supply chain.

“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” Navratil said in a statement.

Shares of Nestlé rose nearly 8% on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The company’s stock, which trades over the counter in the U.S., jumped by about the same level at the opening bell Thursday.

Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press