Nestle reorganizes business in Africa, shuts Nairobi office

NAIROBI, KENYA; Nestle has announced reorganization plan of its operations in Africa which is likely to affect workers in Nairobi regional office.

In a statement, the company said it plans to close its Equitorial Africa Region (EAR) office in Nairobi by end of July and redistribute the responsibilities between the head offices of the two other regions on the continent in Accra and Johannesburg.

The EAR office in Nairobi covers twenty countries including Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Southern Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“We are announcing a reorganization in Sub-Saharan Africa. These changes will ensure our Sub-Saharan Africa business continues on a healthy growth path, delivering affordable nutrition to as wide a population as possible,’ said the company in a statement on its website.

“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.”

“We understand this is unsettling for those employees affected.  We will strive to minimize 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.”

The company said that effective August 1 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.

Nestle will also 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).