Nestlé has announced that it will be laying off 16,000 employees across global operations over the next two years. The giant coffee and food corporation said that the step is being taken to cut costs as well as as a result of automation. The Vevey, Switzerland headquartered global giant saw a small rise in stock price this year after the release of its recent quarterly report.

The food giant which is known for popular brands such as Nescafé, KitKat and Nesquick announced the job cuts and the quarter report in a LinkedIn post. Newly appointed CEO Philipp Navratil wrote that the company is looking to streamline operations after longtime CEO Laurent Frexie was dismissed. He left the job after an undisclosed romantic relationship with a subordinate came out in the open.

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

He also spoke of making hard decisions including “headcount” and “other measures” that the firm would take to “substantially” reduce costs. 

Nestlé is planning to cut 16,000 employees from its global operations, which is six percent of its workforce. These will include 12,000 white collar job losses and 4,000 job cuts in supply chain and manufacturing. Other details have not been disclosed.

Navratil also said that they were “transforming” how they worked and were simplifying their organization and automating their processes. Nestlé is increasing automation in their operations, similar to the current trend among almost all the retailers and manufacturers. 

Nestlé has also reported better sales figures in the first nine months of 2025. It has sold more products across the wide range of brands it owns including coffee and sweets. It is the largest packaged food and drink company in the world. The Nescafé coffee brand of the Swiss based giant is the most popular global coffee brand and has robust sales worldwide.