Consumer goods giant Unilever, the world’s 108th most valuable company, is shedding its ice cream brands and separating them from the rest of its multibillion-dollar business. In the process, 6% of its workforce could be cut.
According to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, the London-based company will likely create a new entity to house the company’s iconic ice cream division, including brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Cornetto and Magnum.
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Although Unilever’s ice cream unit posted revenue of $8.6 billion or 7.9 billion euros last year, it was the lowest-performing category among Unilever’s core businesses, earning at least $4 billion. dollars less than each of Unilever’s other four divisions. The next lowest performing category was home care, with revenue of $13.3 billion or 12.2 billion euros in 2023.
“Our general idea is to do fewer things, better and with greater impact,” said Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher Bloomberg. “Ice cream is really a different business. It’s already run separately from our other businesses.”
The ice cream brands could be listed as a separate company, which Unilever said was “the most likely option,” or they could be sold to a private equity firm, which has precedent: Unilever sold 20 beauty brands to a Boston-based private equity firm. Yellow Wood Partners in December, including Q-tips and Caress.
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If Unilever’s ice cream brands are spun off in a separate listing, details will be decided in the next 18 months, according to Bloomberg.
Schumacher has been with the company for nine months and was previously CEO of dairy company FrieslandCampina. He plans to cut 7,500 jobs, or about 6% of Unilever’s 128,000-person workforce, as part of the restructuring.
Unilever’s core businesses after the restructuring will include beauty and wellness, personal care, home care and nutrition. Vaseline, Dove, Liquid IV and Paula’s Choice Skincare all fall into these categories, according to Unilever’s brands page.
Unilever’s full-year results from 2023 show ice cream had a “disappointing year” with underlying sales growth lower than Unilever brands. Ben & Jerry’s also had a public legal dispute with Unilever over where its products could be sold, which ended in December 2022.
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