Key Takeaways
- Nestlé is the largest consumer goods company in the world and owns more than 2,000 brands, including Gerber baby food and Purina pet food.
- On Thursday, the company announced that it would reduce its workforce by 16,000 globally over the next two years.
- Nestlé employs 227,000 workers worldwide, with 36,000 employees based in the U.S.
Nestlé, the biggest consumer goods company in the world with a market capitalization of $265 billion, is preparing to cut 16,000 jobs globally over the next two years.
Nestlé, which oversees more than 2,000 brands, including Nespresso, Gerber baby food, Purina pet food and KitKat candy bars, announced on Thursday that the layoffs would target approximately 12,000 white-collar jobs, resulting in a cost savings of $1.25 billion. The remaining 4,000 jobs will affect those in manufacturing and the supply chain positions. The job cuts will reduce Nestlé’s global workforce by 6% overall.
“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” said Philipp Navratil, Nestlé CEO, in a press release on Thursday. “This will include making hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount over the next two years. We will do this with respect and transparency.”
Related: Microsoft’s CEO Says the Company’s Mass Layoffs, Despite Financial Success, Are ‘Weighing Heavily on Me’ in an Internal Memo
Nestlé’s U.S. division has about 36,000 employees, according to Forbes. The company employs about 277,000 workers globally.
The layoffs are part of Nestlé’s wider effort to reduce spending by $3.75 billion by 2027, up from its previous target of $3.14 billion. The company said in the press release that it would increase automation and sharing services among divisions to fill in the gaps left by laid-off employees.
It’s unclear how Nestlé plans to bring more automation to its corporate offices. A recent report published earlier this month from Challenger, Gray and Christmas shows that more than 17,000 jobs have been lost this year so far due to AI.
Navratil stepped into the CEO role last month after former CEO Laurent Freixe was fired for failing to disclose a relationship with a subordinate, which was a breach of Nestlé’s code of conduct. Navratil is a longtime Nestlé employee who first joined the company as an internal auditor in 2001. He rose through the ranks and was previously chief executive of Nestlé Nespresso, according to his LinkedIn.
Other consumer goods companies have recently announced plans to cut jobs. Procter & Gamble indicated in June that it would reduce its workforce by 15%, or 7,000 jobs, as part of a two-year restructuring program. Meanwhile, Estée Lauder approved layoffs affecting 3,200 employees out of a 57,000-person global workforce in August.
Related: Meta Informs Staff that Layoffs Will Begin in a Now-Leaked Internal Memo
Key Takeaways
- Nestlé is the largest consumer goods company in the world and owns more than 2,000 brands, including Gerber baby food and Purina pet food.
- On Thursday, the company announced that it would reduce its workforce by 16,000 globally over the next two years.
- Nestlé employs 227,000 workers worldwide, with 36,000 employees based in the U.S.
Nestlé, the biggest consumer goods company in the world with a market capitalization of $265 billion, is preparing to cut 16,000 jobs globally over the next two years.
Nestlé, which oversees more than 2,000 brands, including Nespresso, Gerber baby food, Purina pet food and KitKat candy bars, announced on Thursday that the layoffs would target approximately 12,000 white-collar jobs, resulting in a cost savings of $1.25 billion. The remaining 4,000 jobs will affect those in manufacturing and the supply chain positions. The job cuts will reduce Nestlé’s global workforce by 6% overall.
“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” said Philipp Navratil, Nestlé CEO, in a press release on Thursday. “This will include making hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount over the next two years. We will do this with respect and transparency.”
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