Exclusive: Unilever to guarantee European ice cream workers' employment terms for 3 years, memo shows
Under European Union and British legislation, employees' contracts and collective agreements can be renegotiated one year after sales or spin-off deals.
The decision will lock the new ice cream company into a three-year deal that will impact how it treats and pays employees in Europe, regardless of uncertainty or changes to the environment in which it operates.
Unilever announced the spin off of its ice cream unit, which includes five of the world's top 10 category brands including Magnum and Wall's, in March 2024 and said it would cut 7,500 jobs from the group globally to save costs. About 3,200 layoffs were initially expected in Europe but Reuters reported in November that the British consumer company had nearly halved this figure by moving people to the ice cream unit.
The new ice cream business will have its primary listing in Amsterdam.
"Working conditions will be protected for at least three years and cannot be worsened," according to the memo reviewed by Reuters and sent on Tuesday from the European Works Council to Unilever employees after nearly a year of negotiations with the company.
Unilever did not respond to a request for comment.
The ice cream unit's roughly 6,000 workers will be able to maintain the same conditions on salaries, bonuses, share plans, pensions and holidays, according to a source familiar with the discussions with Mustafa Seçkin, the chairperson of the new company's European business.
The source, who did not have permission to speak with the press, said further layoffs were unlikely at the business, which generated sales of 8.3 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in 2024 and is to be named The Magnum Ice Cream Company.
On July 1, the business is expected to launch as an independent company under the Unilever umbrella, ahead of the demerger at the end of this year.
Ben & Jerry's independent board members were not part of the negotiations with the European works council, nor were they consulted, the source said.
Unilever has been embroiled for nearly a year in an acrimonious legal battle with the independent board of Ben & Jerry's, one of its biggest brands, over allegations that it is muzzling the Vermont-based company - including on political issues - hurting its ability to carry out its social mission.
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The situation is reminiscent of the final rounds of the Brexit negotiations five years ago when von der Leyen similarly was giving in to unacceptable demands from Boris Johnson, only to U-turn under pressure from a steelier EU chief negotiator and a quartet of member states. Today, von der Leyen runs Brussels with a strong presidential hand and has largely done away with internal checks and balances inside the commission. That is her prerogative and her style, but the upshot should not be weak, ineffective and unprincipled dealings on Europe's major geopolitical challenges, from Trump to Gaza. The 'deal' in Scotland is in reality an unstable interim accord. Nothing is yet inked or signed; Washington and Brussels are already locking horns on its interpretation and negotiations on the finer (and broader) points are ongoing. The 27 EU governments will inevitably get involved as the final deal needs to be translated into an international agreement and EU law. 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