Swiss food giant Nestlé plans to cut as many as 500 computer-service jobs in Switzerland as part of a restructuring plan to increase profitability, the company announced on Tuesday.

Nestlé will be outsourcing the IT jobs to Spain, according to a press release published on the company’s website.

“We understand that this a difficult time for our employees,” said Peter Vogt, head of Nestlé’s Human Resources.

Nestlé’s coffee unit, Nespresso, is also moving Swiss jobs to Spain and Portugal. This move will impact an additional 80 employees, although the people affected by this reorganisation will be offered jobs in the new locations.

The cuts will be implemented over the next 18 months. “Nestlé remains fully committed to its home base in Switzerland. The relationship between Nestlé and Switzerland is mutually beneficial,” Vogt said.

Earlier this year, Nestlé said it was transferring its chocolate research centre from Broc in canton Fribourg to York in the north of England. Some 25 jobs were affected but the existing chocolate factory in the Swiss town is not threatened.

Nestlé spokesperson confirmed a report by the 24Heures and Tribune de Genève newspapers that 25 employees would be offered jobs either in York, Broc, or elsewhere in the group as part of the change.

The decision to move the chocolate research centre from Broc to York is designed to “improve the speed and agility of global innovation”, Nestlé said. This decision is part of a vast restructuring exercise that was launched last autumn.

The Broc research centre was inaugurated in 2009 at a cost of CHF25 million. Nestlé now plans to set up a technical unit at this location to support chocolate-related activities in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, employing a team of 15 people.