Nestle plans to cut up to 500 IT jobs in Switzerland

ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle plans to eliminate up to 500 information technology jobs at its Swiss home base as its shifts work to an existing tech hub in Spain and other locations, the food and beverage giant said on Tuesday.

None of the group's Swiss production sites will be affected by the plan, which is being presented to staff for consultation, it said in a statement.

Its Nespresso coffee business also plans to establish operational centers in Spain and Portugal to benefit from existing Nestle e-commerce and supply chain hubs, and intends to create a center for boutique operations in Italy too.

"It is Nespresso's intention to offer roles in these centers to all of the 80 employees impacted by the proposed change," it added. These were in addition to the 500 Swiss IT jobs at risk.

Nestle said it remained committed to its Swiss base, where it employed more than 10,100 people in 2017.

It said this month it planned to combine its scientific research operations into a single Swiss unit in an attempt to speed up development of new products at a time when competition from smaller rivals is intensifying.

Under pressure from activist shareholder Daniel Loeb to increase investor returns, Nestle has been keeping a close eye on costs.

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)

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