Nestle to cut 16 000 jobs worldwide

NESTLE, the Swiss food giant whose brands include Nespresso coffee and Perrier water, announced Thursday plans to cut 16 000 jobs worldwide over the next two years, sending its share price soaring.

- AFP

"The world is changing, and Nestle needs to change faster,” chief executive Philipp Navratil, who took the reins of the multinational in early September, said in a statement.

That included making "hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount", he said.

The company’s shares shot up more than 8 percent in morning trading, helping to make the overall Zurich stock market the best performing in Europe.

Navratil spoke as the company published nine-month figures showing sales down by 1.9 percent to 65.9 billion Swiss francs ($83 billion).

The job cuts represent about 6 percent of its staff. The layoffs include 12 000 white-collar jobs over the next two years, saving the company one billion Swiss francs - which it said was double what had been previously planned.