Nestlé, the Swiss food giant, will eliminate 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years, its new CEO, Philipp Navratil, announced Thursday. The announcement came as the company published nine-month figures showing Nestlé's sales down by 1.9% to 71 billion euros, as reported by AFP.
“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” Navratil, who took the reins in early September, said in a statement. “This will include making hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount over the next two years."
When his appointment was announced last month, Nestlé cited Navratil's "impressive track record of achieving results in challenging environments."
Navratil began his career at Nestlé in 2001 as an internal auditor. He later held a range of commercial roles in Central America before becoming head of Nestlé Honduras in 2009. In 2013, he was appointed to lead the company’s coffee and beverages division in Mexico.
By 2020, he had joined the strategic business unit for coffee, and in July 2024 he moved to Nespresso. He joined Nestlé’s executive board on January 1.
Paul Bulcke, chairman, stated that Navratil is "renowned for his dynamic presence, he inspires teams and leads with a collaborative, inclusive management style. The board is confident that he will drive our growth plans forward and accelerate efficiency efforts. We are not changing course on strategy and we will not lose pace on performance."
The Swiss food giant announced the dismissal of its previous CEO Laurent Freixe last month following an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate, which breached Nestlé's Code of Business Conduct.
"In line with best practice corporate governance, the Board ordered an investigation overseen by Chairman Paul Bulcke and Lead Independent Director, Pablo Isla, with the support of independent outside counsel. Bulcke added: "This was a necessary decision. Nestlé's values and governance are strong foundations of our company."