It is believed that the company may consider listing plan of new business through demerger. Unilever PLC’s ice cream division had sales of €7.9 billion ($8.6 billion) in 2023.
Layoff Update: British giant Unilever Plc has planned to separate its ice cream business with brands like Ben & Jerry’s. The company said that many options will be considered for this. It is believed that the company may consider listing plan of new business through demerger. Let us tell you that the ice cream division of Unilever PLC had sales of €7.9 billion ($8.6 billion) in the year 2023.
7500 employees laid off
Due to the re-structuring plan of Unilever PLC, 7500 employees are going to be laid off. The company said the move is part of a broader re-structuring. The job cuts are expected to yield up to €800 million over the next three years.
Focus is on four businesses
The re-structuring will focus Unilever Plc on four businesses. These four businesses – Beauty and Wellbeing, Personal Care, Homecare and Nutrition. Earlier, the company’s rival Nestle SA had earlier spun off its ice cream business by setting up a joint venture with private equity firm PAI Partners. Separation of the ice cream unit by the company will end the major tension of Unilever.
What kind of tension
Indeed, the company has had to deal with several controversies over the political stances taken by its brand Ben & Jerry’s. Unilever settled a court battle with Ben & Jerry’s independent board in December 2022 after the brand objected to products being sold in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Earlier, Unilever had also faced many questions on a controversial social media post of Ben & Jerry’s. The post wrote that US President Joe Biden was fanning the flames of war by sending troops to Europe a few weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.
