The Nestlé bunny sign stands along Interstate 69 in Anderson, in front of the Nestlé plant at 4301 W. Madison County Road 450 South. File photo | The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON — Nestlé plans to cut 16,000 jobs globally, but Anderson economic development officials are hopeful the layoffs won’t affect the local plant.
Greg Winkler, executive director of the Anderson Economic Development Department, said Thursday that city officials had reached out to local Nestlé representatives but had not gotten a response.
“There is no indication that they are cutting jobs in Anderson,” Winkler said. “It’s our understanding that the Anderson facility is the most profitable in North America.”
Winkler said it’s naturally concerning whenever a national or international corporate partner announces job cuts.
“We will continue to watch and ask questions concerning the Anderson operations,” he said.
About 800 people are employed at the Anderson facility, adjacent to Interstate 69.
The facility, which opened production in 2008 and has since expanded seven times — investing more than $1.6 billion in the process — houses Nestlé’s largest U.S. distribution center.
The plant produces 1.1 billion bottles of product annually, including Coffeemate and Starbucks creamers, Nesquik flavored milk and Boost nutritional drinks, Thomas Wunderlich, then the factory manager for the Nestlé facility, said in June 2023.
The Swiss food giant announced Thursday that it would eliminate 12,000 white-collar positions in multiple locations, citing the need to revive its financial performance. The company will also cut 4,000 jobs as part of ongoing productivity initiatives in its manufacturing and supply chain.
The job cuts are expected to achieve annual savings of $1.25 billion by the end of next year and $3.76 billion over the next two years.
A voice message left by The Herald Bulletin for Dana Stambaugh, director of external communications for Nestlé United States, was not immediately answered Thursday.
Nestlé makes Nescafé coffee products, KitKats candy bars, pet foods and many other well-known consumer brands.
It has been a turbulent year for the company, based in Vevey, Switzerland. Last month, Nestle dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a subordinate.
Freixe had only been on the job for a year. He was replaced by Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive.
Shortly after Freixe was ousted, Chairman Paul Bulcke stepped down early.
Nestlé, like other foodmakers, is also fighting a host of external headwinds, including rising commodity costs and U.S.-imposed tariffs. The company announced price hikes over the summer to offset higher coffee and cocoa costs.
President Donald Trump has implemented a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods like coffee and orange juice. The Trump administration imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian products in July, which was on top of a 10% tariff imposed earlier.
Coffee habits in the U.S. are almost exclusively fueled by imports. Official U.S. government data shows Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer, supplies about 30% of the American market, followed by Colombia at roughly 20% and Vietnam at about 10%. Tariff negotiations are ongoing.
The price of cocoa soared to record highs last year after inclement weather in areas where it is grown constrained supply and hit companies like Nestlé hard. While cocoa costs began to fall in 2025 as supply increased, cocoa is vastly more expensive than it was just two years ago.
“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” Navratil said in a statement.
Shares of Nestlé rose nearly 8% on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The company’s stock, which trades over the counter in the U.S., jumped by about the same level at the opening bell Thursday.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
© 2025 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.