Nestle bans employee travel in radical coronavirus response

Nestle SA, the world’s largest food and beverage company, told employees to avoid traveling for business reasons until the middle of next month to keep from contracting or spreading the coronavirus.

The Swiss maker of KitKat snack bars and Nespresso capsules “shares global concerns over the spread and impact on public health of coronavirus,” it said by email.

Nestle, which employs 291,000 people worldwide, is one of the first multinationals to take such a decisive step in the face of the outbreak. The virus, which emerged in China at the end of last year, has infected more than 81,000 people and killed at least 2,771, raising concern about a pandemic. It has spread from China to over 40 countries in less than two months, spurred by air travel.

So far Nestle’s measures are more extreme than other companies have reported. Coca-Cola Co. said today it is suspending “non-essential” travel to and from the Asia-Pacific region and to Italy. It characterized non-essential as any business that can be conducted through videoconferencing or conference calls. Procter & Gamble Co. is advising employees not to travel if they are sick or worried about traveling. Kraft Heinz Co. is maintaining its ban on travel instituted at the end of January, but only to and from China.

The Nestle measure extends to March 15 and will be reviewed, the company said.