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Food and beverage giant Nestlé announced it will cut sixteen thousand jobs within the coming 24 months, as the recently appointed chief executive Philipp Navratil drives a strategy to prioritize products offering the “greatest profit margins”.

The Swiss company must “change faster” to remain competitive in a evolving marketplace and implement a “results-oriented culture” that does not accept ceding ground to competitors, the executive stated.

He took over from former CEO the previous leader, who was dismissed in the ninth month.

The job cuts were made public on the fourth weekday as the corporation announced improved revenue numbers for the first three-quarters of the current year, with increased product movement across its primary segments, including hot drinks and snacks.

Globally dominant consumer packaged goods company, this industry leader owns hundreds of labels, like its coffee, chocolate, and food brands.

The company intends to remove twelve thousand professional roles on top of 4,000 additional positions throughout the organization over the coming 24 months, it said in a statement.

The lay-offs will result in savings of the food giant about 1bn SFr (£940m) each year as part of an sustained expense reduction program, it said.

Nestlé's share price was up seven and a half percent soon after its quarterly update and layoff announcement were made public.

Nestlé's leader stated: “We are cultivating a corporate environment that adopts a performance mindset, that does not accept competitive setbacks, and where winning is rewarded... The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster.”

This transformation would include “hard but necessary choices to reduce headcount,” he noted.

Financial expert Diana Radu said the announcement indicated that Nestlé's leader seeks to “increase openness to areas that were formerly less clear in its expense reduction initiatives.”

The job cuts, she said, are likely an attempt to “adjust outlooks and rebuild investor confidence through tangible steps.”

The former CEO was sacked by the company in early September after an investigation into reports from staff that he failed to report a romantic relationship with a junior employee.

The former board leader the ex-chairman brought forward his exit timeline and stepped down in the same month.

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

Last year, an inquiry revealed Nestlé baby food products marketed in low- and middle-income countries contained undesirably high quantities of sweeteners.

The analysis, by a Swiss NGO and the International Baby Food Action Network, established that in many cases, the identical items sold in wealthy countries had zero additional sweeteners.

• Nestlé owns hundreds of labels globally.
• Layoffs will impact sixteen thousand workers during the upcoming biennium.
• Expense cuts are estimated to total one billion Swiss francs each year.
• Share price climbed significantly following the news.