Nestle has played down news it plans to reduce its workforce in equatorial Africa, insisting the move "does not signify a major restructuring" in the region.

It emerged Nestle plans to reduce its headcount in equatorial Africa following an interview with regional chief, Cornel Krummenacher, in The Financial Times. According to the paper, Krummenacher said the company had overestimated the growth prospects of Africa – where a middle class has not emerged as rapidly as other developing markets such as Asia.

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A spokesperson for the Swiss food giant told just-food equatorial Africa, or EAR, accounts for 10-15% of Nestle's business on the continent and stressed the growth the company is seeing in other parts of the region.

"The central and west African region (CWAR) accounts for well over half of Nestle’s business in Africa and has seen good growth this year. Our food business and beverage business in particular are thriving in CWAR and are amongst the largest in the Nestle Group. The south African region (ZAR) was Nestle’s fastest growing market in Africa, growing double digit in the first quarter of this year."

The spokesperson played down the significance of the cuts to the workforce, stressing the 15% figure is purely for equatorial Africa. "The 15% reduction in workforce accounts for 60 people across six countries out of a total of 21 countries in the EAR region. This does not signify a major restructuring of our workforce in EAR. We have four factories in the region and these are not affected."

Nestle employs a total of 11,000 people on the African continent, the spokesperson continued.

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