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Unilever to slash fewer jobs in Europe, restore some laid-off employees
- IBJ Bureau
- Nov 16, 2024
Unilever is cutting about 1,500 fewer jobs in Europe than initially anticipated and hiring about 1,000 people, primarily those affected by its cost-cutting drive, for its soon-to-be spun off ice cream business, the head of the company’s European Works Council told the Reuters.
The British company, whose shareholders include billionaire activist investor and board member Nelson Peltz, has been trying to streamline its business over the past year under CEO Hein Schumacher.
Prior to his appointment, Unilever had underperformed for years and was criticised for leaving the management with too little time to focus on its best performers.
Some investors had also said that Unilever was too slow to revive margins in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and needed to become leaner.
Unilever had said earlier this year that it would axe 7,500 jobs globally as a part of a restructuring to save about $845 million. It had also said that it would spin off its ice cream unit, which is home to brands including Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum.
Unilever’s European Works Council (UEWC) has strongly criticised those decisions, saying a realignment of the ice cream business could have been successfully managed within Unilever.
UEWC Chairman Hermann Soggeberg told the Reuters exclusively that the company had, however, reached a deal in October with Unilever that would see a reduction of about 1,700 jobs having initially anticipated about 3,200 job losses in Europe.
“We have been negotiating intensively with the company throughout the summer,” Mr Soggeberg said.
He said that Unilever was still making the savings it promised to investors, but was able to reduce the job cuts in Europe significantly through savings projects from 2022 to 2024 and not hiring externally.
Mr Soggeberg said that about 1,000 additional jobs will be offered at Unilever’s European ice cream company primarily to employees affected by job cuts in the rest of Unilever’s business.
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