Nestle slashing 16,000 jobs worldwide; Fate of 1,200 in Netherlands unknown

Nestlé is cutting 16,000 jobs worldwide, new CEO Philip Navratil announced on Thursday. The company wants to increase its sales growth, and Navratil is accelerating its reorganization only weeks after taking office. It is not yet clear in which regions the job cuts will happen. A spokesperson for Nestlé Nederland was unavailable to comment to ANP on Thursday morning.

“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” Navratil said in a statement released to news agencies, including Bloomberg. “This will include making hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount.”

“We plan a reduction of 12,000 white collar professionals across functions and geographies over the coming two years. In addition, we plan a further 4,000 headcount reduction as part of ongoing productivity initiatives in manufacturing and supply chain,” Navratil said in the investor call on Thursday morning.

The job cuts are part of a plan to improve “operational efficiencies,” particularly concerning the “planned reduction in our white collar headcount of 12,000,” said Nestlé CFO Anna Manz on Thursday. This is expected to cause restructuring costs of about 2 billion Swiss francs, or roughly 2.16 billion euros. It will lead to annual savings of about 500 million francs, or 539 million euros, which will be reinvested into growth plans.

The company, known for brands like Nespresso, Maggi, Häagen-Dazs, and KitKat, employed about 1,200 people in the Netherlands in 2023. These workers include 800 covered by collectively-bargained wage agreements, according to labor union FNV. The Dutch headquarters for Nestlé is located in Amstelveen, also home to the firm’s regional offices for its Nespresso business, according to Nestlé’s website.

Over 40 percent of workers are based at a Nunspeet factory complex. The site is used for the production of baby food, with offices for the firm’s Health Sciences division.

Nestlé also announced on Thursday that revenue fell by 1.9 percent to 65.9 billion Swiss francs in the first three quarters of 2025. In the third quarter, the company grew organically by 4.3 percent, largely due to price increases on chocolate and coffee.

Navratil took over as CEO of Nestlé in September, stepping up from heading Nespresso. He replaced Laurent Freixe, who was dismissed over an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate, according to Reuters.

On Tuesday, Heineken also announced job cuts to reduce costs. The beer giant is cutting around 400 jobs at its Amsterdam headquarters.