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Unilever plans to separate its ice cream business that includes brands such as Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum as chief executive officer Hein Schumacher streamlines the UK consumer-goods giant by cutting 7 500 jobs.
The company said a range of options will be considered for the separation, with a demerger that creates a new listed business being the most likely option. Unilever, which also owns Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Domestos cleaners, said the ice cream division had sales of €7,9 billion (US$8,6 billion) in 2023.
The move is part of a broader restructuring as Schumacher tries to jumpstart growth. Unilever said the job cuts, which will affect mainly office-based roles, are part of a plan to achieve €800 million in cost savings over the next three years.
Unilever shares have fallen 6,6 percent over the past year.
Schumacher took over from Alan Jope last year after activist investor Nelson Peltz took a stake in the consumer-goods conglomerate and joined its board following a botched effort to buy GSK’s consumer health division.
The restructuring will leave the company focused on four businesses: beauty and wellbeing, personal care, home care and nutrition. Rival Nestle SA previously separated its ice cream business by setting up a joint venture with private equity firm PAI Partners.
The separation of the ice cream unit will remove a long-running headache for Unilever, which has faced controversies surrounding political stances taken by Ben & Jerry’s. In December 2022, Unilever settled a court battle with Ben & Jerry’s independent board over the licensing of the brand in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. — Bloomberg.
Online Reporter