BUSINESS STRATEGY

Consumer goods giant Unilever is set to cut jobs worldwide

By our News Team | 2022

Company with some of the world’s best-known FMCG brands is under pressure after delivering poor business performance last year.

International consumer good company Unilever has announced that it will be cutting 1 500 management jobs in its operations around the world.

The jobs are in junior and senior management in various unnamed countries. The move is believed to be in response to Unilever’s poor business performance last year and consequent pressure from investors.

Unilever has also been publicly criticised over a failed big-money bid for a division of GlaxoSmithKline, which it hoped would help deliver more sales and bottom-line value.

Unilever employs almost 150 000 people and is headquartered in the United Kingdom. In its stable are some of the world’s best-known brands. These include Marmite, Dove soap, Knorr, Lipton, Omo and Domestos. It has around 400 brands in all.

Photo by Tamorlan via Wikimedia Commons

Over-emphasis on brand purpose and sustainability

Recently the company was also criticised by a prominent British investor for a claimed over-emphasis on sustainability and brand-purpose strategies. This, the investor said, was harming its business performance.

As part of the shake-up, Unilever is to be reorganised around five areas: beauty & wellbeing, personal care, home care, nutrition and ice-cream. Each business group will be responsible for its own strategy, growth and profit delivery globally.

Currently, Unilever’s brands operate in three divisions: beauty & personal care, foods & refreshment, and home care.

“Our new organisational model has been developed over the last year and is designed to continue the step-up we are seeing in the performance of our business,” said Chief Executive, Alan Jope.

“Moving to five category-focused business groups will enable us to be more responsive to consumer and channel trends, with crystal-clear accountability for delivery. Growth remains our top priority and these changes will underpin our pursuit of this.”

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