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Swiss chocolate giant Barry Callebaut may cut 2,500 jobs

Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut said Monday that it may cut almost one in five jobs over the next 18 months as part of efforts to cut costs.

Published: 26 February 2024 17:09 CET
A selection of chocolate.
A selection of chocolate. Photo: Image by Carina from Pixabay

Chief executive Peter Feld told the Handelsblatt newspaper that the company may slash 2,500 jobs, or 18 percent of its workforce.

“It is about reducing complexity and eliminating duplication and inefficient structures,” Feld told the German daily.

The company confirmed the potential job cuts in a statement to AFP.

“Discussions with employee representatives have just begun,” the statement said.

Barry Callebaut, which has its headquarters in Zurich, supplies cocoa and other chocolate products to food industry giants including Hershey, Nestle and Unilever.

The group has been undergoing reorganisation since Feld became chief executive in April, as the firm battled to move on from a salmonella outbreak at a Belgian facility while facing inflationary headwinds.

In September, it launched a strategic investment program of 500 million Swiss francs ($568 million) in innovation, services and digitalisation.

“Our goal is to make Barry Callebaut fit for the future and take it to the next level of growth,” Monday’s statement said.

“It also includes measures to increase efficiency within the company. Overall, the program aims to reduce costs by 15 percent, which could affect up to 2,500 positions worldwide over the next 18 months, primarily by eliminating duplication and inefficiencies,” it said.

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JOBS

Why it will be harder to find a job in Switzerland this autumn

As the temperatures cool, so will the Swiss job market, according to a new survey. However, just how hard it will be to find work will depend on your job sector. 

Published: 11 September 2024 13:57 CEST
Why it will be harder to find a job in Switzerland this autumn

The number of new hires across the country is expected to slow in Q4 of 2024, according to a survey conducted by international recruitment agency Manpower and published on Thursday. 

While Switzerland’s Net Employment Outlook (NEO) is still far greater than its neighbours at 32 percent, it is still two percentage points down from the last quarter and six percentage points down from this time in 2023.

This figure is calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers expecting to reduce staff from the percentage of those expecting to hire new workers. This provides an effective measure of employer sentiment.

Winners and losers

Finance and real estate are the sectors seeing the biggest decline in new jobs, with a NEO of only 21 percent, in large part due to their close ties to global financial markets and regulatory shifts.

Meanwhile IT and retail remained relatively robust, with an NEO of 46 and 43 percent respectively. 

These areas have been relatively insulated from the difficulties encountered elsewhere, thanks to the progress of digitization across Switzerland, with Black Friday and the Christmas season providing a boost to the retail sector. 

The size of companies also appears to play a role for those seeking work – those looking to work for a larger employer in luck. 

Mid-sized companies, with between 250 to 999 staff reported a NEO of 57 percent, while those with between 1000 – 4,999 have a NEO of 43 percent. 

Location, location 

Job-seekers could also find their task more difficult depending on where they are located in Switzerland, according to the survey results.

Those in Switzerland’s eastern cantons have it easier with the Central Switzerland region achieving a NEO of 60 percent, Eastern Switzerland at 48 percent and Zurich at 33 percent. 

In the western half of the country, the Espace Mitteland appeared to do well with a NEO of 40 percent. However, the Lake Geneva region (26) and Northeastern Switzerland region (22) both saw a marked slowdown in hiring. 

Ticino is the only region to score a negative NEO at -4 percent.

Top ten performance

While there are substantial variations in job opportunities within different sectors and regions in Switzerland, overall, the country is ranked in the top ten globally in terms of Net Employment Outlook.

The country placed in sixth place worldwide, below South Africa and above Guatemala. 

India scored the top spot on Manpower’s NEO rankings, followed by Costa Rica and the United States.

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