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Food and beverage giant the Swiss conglomerate announced it will cut 16,000 positions during the upcoming biennium, as its new CEO Philipp Navratil advances a strategy to concentrate on products offering the “highest potential returns”.

The Swiss company must “change faster” to keep pace with a changing world and implement a “results-oriented culture” that rejects losing market share, the executive stated.

He replaced ex-chief executive the previous leader, who was dismissed in the ninth month.

These workforce reductions were made public on Thursday as the corporation shared improved sales figures for the initial three quarters of the current year, with higher sales across its key product lines, such as beverages and confectionery.

The biggest food & beverage company, Nestlé manages a multitude of brands, like Nescafé, KitKat and Maggi.

Nestlé intends to eliminate 12,000 white collar positions in addition to 4,000 additional positions across the board during the next biennium, it stated officially.

The lay-offs will cut costs by the food giant approximately 1bn SFr (£940m) annually as a component of an sustained expense reduction program, it said.

Its equity price rose seven and a half percent shortly after its performance report and restructuring news were announced.

Mr Navratil said: “We are cultivating a culture that welcomes a achievement-oriented approach, that does not accept losing market share, and where success is recognized... The marketplace is evolving, and the company requires accelerated transformation.”

Such change would encompass “difficult yet essential actions to cut staff numbers,” he added.

Financial expert an industry specialist remarked the announcement indicated that Nestlé's leader aims to “increase openness to areas that were once ambiguous in the company's efficiency strategy.”

These layoffs, she said, seem to be an effort to “adjust outlooks and rebuild investor confidence through concrete measures.”

Mr Navratil's predecessor was terminated by Nestlé in the start of last fall after an investigation into reports from staff that he did not disclose a romantic relationship with a immediate staff member.

The company's outgoing chair the ex-chairman moved up his leaving schedule and resigned in the corresponding timeframe.

It was reported at the moment that shareholders blamed the former chairman for the company's ongoing problems.

Last year, an study discovered infant nutrition items from the company sold in developing nations included unhealthily high levels of sweeteners.

The study, carried out by advocacy groups, found that in numerous instances, the same products sold in affluent markets had zero additional sweeteners.

• The corporation operates hundreds of brands internationally.
• Job cuts will involve 16,000 staff members throughout the coming 24 months.
• Savings are anticipated to amount to one billion Swiss francs each year.
• Share price rose 7.5% following the update.