Unilever Plans to Spin off Ice-Cream Unit in Shake-Up Affecting 7,500 Jobs

Unilever plans to separate its ice-cream business as it seeks to streamline operations in a restructuring program that could affect around 7,500 jobs, it said Tuesday.

The Anglo-Dutch retailer—which owns consumer brands such as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove soap—said it expects about 7,500 predominantly office-based roles to be affected in a move aimed at saving around 800 million euros ($869.7 million) over the next three years.

These savings more-than offset the estimated negative effects from a planned separation of its ice cream business as a standalone business, it said.

Its ice-cream brands delivered a turnover of EUR7.9 billion last year, and include five of the top 10 global-ice creams brands in terms of sales, including Wall’s, Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s.

A demerger is the most likely separation route, while other options will be considered to maximize returns for shareholders, Unilever said.

Separation activity will begin immediately, with full separation expected by the end of 2025, it said.

In addition, the London-based company said it will launch a productivity program, aimed at speeding up growth via a leaner and more accountable organization through investment in technology.

Incremental savings will be used for growth investments in its brands research and development and to support margin improvement, it said.

After separating the ice-cream business and implementing the new program, Unilever expects to have a structurally higher margin, while it aims to deliver mid-single-digit underlying sales growth and modest margin improvement.

Write to Christian Moess Laursen at [email protected]