Business

Unilever Plans to Spin Off Ice Cream Division, Including Ben & Jerry's

Mar 19, 2024 1 min read

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Unilever has announced plans to separate its ice cream division, which includes popular brands such as Ben & Jerry's, Magnum, and Wall's, into a standalone entity by the end of 2025. This decision is part of a larger cost-savings strategy, with the company aiming to achieve mid-single digit underlying sales growth and modest margin improvement following the separation. The restructuring is also set to bring significant cost savings of approximately 800 million euros over a three-year period.

As a consequence of this strategic move, Unilever will see a global reduction of around 7,500 jobs, primarily impacting office-based roles. The restructuring costs associated with this plan are estimated to be around 1.2% of Group turnover for the next three years, an increase from the previous estimate of 1%. Unilever's CEO Hein Schumacher introduced this initiative under the company's Growth Action Plan (GAP), which is intended to streamline operations, enhance productivity, and position the company for more focused growth.

The ice cream unit had reported sales of €7.9 billion in 2023, indicating its significant contribution to Unilever's portfolio. The standalone business is expected to be better positioned to realize its growth potential under a different ownership structure. The process of separation is set to begin immediately, with the aim of fully completing the transition by the 2025 deadline.

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