Swiss food multinational Nestle plans to cut 15% of its workforce in 21 African countries, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Cornel Krummenacher, chief executive for Nestle’s equatorial Africa region, said that Africa's economic development has not been as rapid as the company expected and Nestle therefore overestimated the growth potential of the region. "We thought this would be the next Asia, but we have realised the middle class here in the region is extremely small and it is not really growing," Krummenacher said in an interview with the FT.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Go deeper with GlobalData

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

Krummenacher said Nestle would be doing well to hit 10% sales growth in the region in the coming years and added that, with the cuts, the company hoped to break even next year.

Nestle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact