Catherwood LibraryILR School

Unilever, a major consumer goods company, recently announced layoffs that are expected to affect thousands of workers. Around 7500 workers will lose their jobs, and the layoffs will reduce the company’s workforce by six percent. The layoffs are mainly targeted at office employees. Unilever will also spin off all of its ice cream products, into a new company. The changes will allow the company to reduce costs and will allow for a more focused and simplified company portfolio. The company has hundreds of brands for a diverse variety of goods, and the company will be narrowing its focus to thirty brands. The new ice cream company will include all of the company’s ice cream products, including Ben and Jerry’s, Magnum, Cornetto, Talenti, and Wall’s. These changes come as Unilever has experienced decreasing revenue in the ice cream industry, largely due to increases in prices that have caused consumers to switch to other brands instead. The layoffs and the new ice cream company are projected to cut costs by $870 million.