Nestle to cut 16,000 jobs with British impact unclear

The world's biggest packaged food company, Nestle, is to cut 16,000 jobs in the next two years, it announced on Thursday.

The cuts around the world come as the company said it was "automating" its processes and increasing focus on "operational efficiency".

Losses will primarily be in white-collar, professional parts of the business, with 12,000 roles to go. Around 4,000 manufacturing and supply chain jobs are to be lost, Nestle said.

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There will be a consultation on the roles to be axed "where applicable", the announcement read.

The company is behind brands such as Nescafe, Cheerios, KitKat, and Rolo.

What about the UK?

The impact on Nestle's British workforce was not clear from the corporate announcement.

When contacted by Sky News, a spokesperson said: "At this point in time, we are not in a position to give concrete figures for individual markets."

Its market update said the reductions will be "across functions and geographies".

There are Nestle factories, distribution centres and offices across England, Scotland and Wales employing roughly 7,500. Worldwide Nestle employs 277,000 people.

The GMB union, which represents roughly 2,000 Nestle staff in Britain said the job losses are "a gutless betrayal of Nestle's hard-working staff".

"Nestle is a hugely profitable business, and from our point of view, this is about squeezing more profit rather than trying to mitigate losses, which is hugely disappointing," Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB's national officer, told Sky News.

Latest figures for Nestle, for the first half of the year, showed profit of £4.7bn, down 10% from a year earlier.

"Nestle workers in the UK have already had to deal with the closure of Fawdon factory in 2023 and what feels like constant restructuring and job losses in factories in York and Tutbury," Ms Brumpton-Childs said

While the union hasn't had any detail from Nestle leadership, she said she was anticipating GMB members to "definitely" be impacted by the latest announcement.

A struggling sweets market

"We do know that the European markets are where some of the tightest margins are, and where the company might be struggling more", she added.

The confectionery market in particular has struggled due to elevated cocoa prices, as climate change has hit harvests.

'Hard but necessary'

Nestle's new chief executive, Philipp Navratil, said the number of staff will be reduced "with respect and transparency" and that it will involve "hard but necessary decisions" in his first major structural announcement since being appointed after the sudden departure of his predecessor.

Mr Navratil, a long-time Nestle executive and former head of Nestle coffee machine brand, Nespresso, took the reins in September after the dismissal of Laurent Freixe following an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with an employee.

"As Nestle moves forward, we will be rigorous in our approach to resource allocation, prioritising the opportunities and businesses with the highest potential returns," Mr Navratil said.

"We are fostering a culture that embraces a performance mindset, that does not accept losing market share, and where winning is rewarded."

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