Nestlé restructures sub-Saharan Africa business

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In a statement issued by the Swiss food and drinks company, it says the reorganisation is to ensure its sub-Saharan Africa business continues on a healthy growth path.

From 1 August 2018, the Central West Africa Region (CWAR) will become a key market for the Group. Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, currently part of Equatorial Africa Region (EAR), will join CWAR. Nestlé will expand the Southern African region (ZAR) to include the Horn of Africa, Southern, Eastern and Island clusters of EAR. The new, enlarged region, headquartered in Johannesburg, will be renamed the Eastern and Southern African Region (ESAR).

"Our team in EAR has done a tremendous job, but after trying for nearly ten years we can no longer sustain the cost of the regional head office with the size of the business there. So, we plan to close the office at the end of July, redistributing the responsibilities between the head offices of the two other regions on the continent in Accra and Johannesburg," the company said.

Nestlé said the positions of those who work in the country/cluster offices across EAR are not affected by the closure of the regional head office, and that consumers, customers, trade and wholesale partners, and suppliers of its operations across EAR countries/clusters will also not be impacted.

"We understand this is unsettling for those employees affected. We will strive to minimise the impact of the changes, holding consultations with them to achieve this. We are very grateful for their contribution to the growth of our business in sub-Saharan Africa and will do our utmost to give them strong support through this process."