Unilever to cut third of office roles in Europe - report

(Sharecast News) - Unilever is reportedly planning to cut a third of all office roles in Europe by the end of next year, as the company's new chief executive forges ahead with his plan to boost growth at the struggling consumer goods giant.

According to the Financial Times, the company, which is under pressure from shareholders including activist investor Nelson Peltz, told senior executives on Wednesday that as many as 3,200 roles would be cut in Europe by the end of 2025.

The job cuts are part of Unilever's "productivity programme" first announced in March that include slashing as many as 7,500 roles globally. The company employs 10,000 to 11,000 office-based staff in Europe.

In a company-wide call, details of which were shared with the FT, chief human resources officer Constantina Tribou said: "The expected net impact in roles in Europe between now and the end of 2025 is in the range of 3,000 to 3,200 roles."

The cuts would apply "primarily to office-based roles" and will not include jobs based in factories, she added.

The exact location of the job cuts across Europe is yet to be formally decided by Unilever, whose headquarters and primary listing are both in London after abandoning its Anglo-Dutch structure in 2020, the FT said.

Unilever said in a statement that a consultation process is starting over the next few weeks with affected employees.

Hermann Soggeberg, chair of the company's European Works Council, said that almost all European office locations would be equally affected but particularly the corporate centres in London and Rotterdam.

Unilever announced in March that it would spin out its ice cream division in a bid to boost growth. The Netherlands-based division was lagging behind faster-growing categories such as beauty and wellbeing.

Unilever also said it would cut 7,500 jobs globally, without specifying where the job cuts would be carried out.

Soggeberg said the works council, which fights for employee rights, was liaising with management on a consultation to establish where the job cuts would be carried out and to establish how to minimise the losses.

Some people who are let go could be reassigned to new roles in the ice cream business once it is spun off "in order to reduce the number of affected colleagues", Soggeberg said.

"We will not be able to safeguard every job, but we need to safeguard every person," he added. "It's the biggest restructure we have seen in the last decade. This is shocking for the people."

A Unilever spokesperson told the FT: "In March, we announced the launch of a comprehensive productivity programme, to drive focus and growth through a leaner and more accountable organisation."

"We recognise the significant anxiety that these proposals are causing amongst our people. We are committed to supporting everyone through these changes, as we go through the consultation process."