Nestlé has begun implementing job cuts in Europe as part of the 16,000 job cuts announced by CEO Philipp Navratil in October.
The Swiss-based group, the world’s largest food and drink manufacturer, has confirmed planned job cuts in the UK and France with Just food but it has not yet clarified the figures reported by various media outlets in Germany, Spain and Italy.
Together, the total impact is more than 1,400 so far in the five countries.
Navratil revealed in October that it planned to cut Nestlé’s workforce after taking the top job just a month earlier. A veteran owner of the KitKat and Nescafé brands, he replaced another Nestlé stalwart, Laurent Freixe, who left the business after breaching code of conduct rules.
“Job losses would be implemented over the next two years, including 12,000 white-collar workers across the group and 4,000 in manufacturing,” Navratil said at the time as part of a plan to boost annual savings to 1 billion francs ($1.2 billion) by the end of 2027.
In France, 180 positions will be cut in R&D and “support functions,” Nestlé confirmed in what it described as a “tense agri-food market, marked by pressure on purchasing power, rising production costs and increased competition.”
Its R&D facilities in Tours and Lisieux will be affected, Nestlé said in a statement, adding that the cuts “aim to simplify and digitize the organization, strengthen agility and efficiency, and adapt structures to the evolution of the business portfolio, in order to gain competitiveness and support investments.”
Nestlé is now “entering a phase of information and consultation with employee representatives” in France, as it seeks to “gradually” begin job cuts in 2027.
The company added that the impact of the reduction could be reduced to around 75 to 100 jobs based on current vacancies, newly created positions, transfers within the business and voluntary retirements.
For the UK, Nestlé did not confirm the number of cuts or planned locations, but the GMB union put the figure at “more than” 450.
The union said in a statement that the “majority” of UK jobs would go to “staff and management” at Nestlé’s sites in York and Gatwick, adding that GMB will work “closely with members and the company to ease the pain of these cuts as much as possible.”
Meanwhile, a Nestlé UK spokesperson said: “We said that in 2025 we would reduce our global workforce by 16,000 roles and that process is ongoing.
“As always, we will manage any changes appropriately and in consultation with our people. Any proposed changes will always be shared with those affected first and we have no further updates to give at this time.”