Brew Markets Nestle’s New CEO Cuts 16k Jobs, Plus A Timber Merger and Banking Jitters
Oct 16, 2025
A new CEO at Nestle shakes things up with plans to cut 16,000 jobs and reshape the company for a changing market. Meanwhile, a significant merger between two timber giants raises questions about strategy—timber assets or land value? Concerns grow over auto bankruptcies impacting regional banks, sparking a dive in stock prices linked to fraud fears. Lastly, earnings reports highlight impressive results from TMSC driven by AI chip demand and J.B. Hunt's surge in intermodal performance, while airline results show a mixed bag.
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Nestle's Fast Move To Prove Change
- Nestle's new CEO Philip Navratil set four priorities and moved quickly on cost cuts to signal decisive change.
- He announced 12,000 white-collar and 4,000 additional role cuts and raised cost-savings to ~3 billion CHF to prove he will act with urgency.
Timber Deal Is Also A Real Estate Play
- Rayonier and Potlatch Deltic plan an all-stock merger to form a ~4.2 million acre timberland REIT.
- The combined firm would be the second-largest US forestry owner and monetize both wood production and the land beneath it.
Tariffs And Rates Whipsaw Wood Markets
- Timber prices and production swung this year due to tariff threats, mortgage rates, and stockpiling from Canada.
- Recent US tariffs on Canadian softwood (about 45%) are pushing domestic prices back up and shifting supply dynamics.
