Nestle said Thursday it will cut 16,000 jobs as the firm's new CEO Philipp Navratil looks to accelerate a turnaround at the consumer goods giant.

In a bid to improve operational efficiency, the firm said it will cut 12,000 white-collar jobs and a further 4,000 roles will be reduced over the next two years.

Shares of Nestle were last seen trading nearly 9% higher. The stock price jump boosted Europe's food and beverage sector, which was up more than 3.3% on Thursday morning.

Under its former CEO Laurent Freixe, Nestle had already announced a cost-savings programme worth 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($3.14 billion). This has now been accelerated to 3 billion Swiss francs by the end of 2027.

The company posted a better-than-expected organic growth rate of 4.3% in the third quarter as

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