Its Nespresso coffee business also plans to establish operational centers in Spain and Portugal Nestle has been keeping a close eye on costs, under pressure from activist shareholder Daniel Loeb to increase investor returns ZURICH: 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. People speak to one another next to a sign of the Nescafe brand at the headquarters of Swiss food giant’s Nestle on October 20, 2016 in Vevey. Sales of Swiss food giant Nestle rose slightly in the first 9 months of 2016, in a “more sluggish” environment, which led the group to strongly revise downwards its expectations for the full 2016 year. According to a statement released October 20, the group recorded a one-percent increase in sales over the first nine months of 2016 to 65,500,000,000 francs ($66 billion).