Ben & Jerry’s owner Unilever to spin off ice cream arm, cut 7,500 jobs globally
- Unilever will immediately start the separation of its ice cream unit, which has five of the 10 biggest global brands, as a stand-alone business
- The major overhaul will also cut around 7,500 mainly office-based jobs worldwide and save €800 million (US$870 million) over the next three years
British consumer goods giant Unilever announced on Tuesday that it will separate its ice cream unit, whose top-selling products include Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, as a stand-alone business.
The company also unveiled a major overhaul which it said would “impact” around 7,500 mainly office-based jobs worldwide and save €800 million (US$870 million) over the next three years.
“The separation of Unilever and ice cream in combination with the productivity programme will ensure that Unilever’s financial and management resources are focused on its strongest, global or scalable brands,” Unilever said in a statement.
“These will have the capability to drive category expansion and deliver accelerated, sustainable levels of growth and improved profitability.”
The ice cream unit has five of the 10 biggest global brands, including Wall’s brand Cornetto and Carte D’Or, with turnover of €7.9 billion last year – although underlying sales growth was disappointing.
“A demerger of ice cream is the most likely separation route … Other options for separation will be considered to maximise returns for shareholders,” Unilever added on Tuesday.