AFP :
British consumer goods giant Unilever on Tuesday announced plans to cut around 1,500 management jobs worldwide in a major restructure for the company, which recently saw a major acquisition bid fail.
The maker of Magnum ice cream and Dove soap said its “proposed new organisation model will result in a reduction in senior management roles of around 15%”.
It added in a statement that junior management roles would be cut by five percent.
Together the cuts totalled “around 1,500 roles globally”. Chief executive Alan Jope, facing growing pressure from investor activists over his leadership, added: “Growth remains our top priority and these changes will underpin our pursuit of this.”
The announcement comes after Unilever failed in a £50-billion takeover bid for the consumer health care unit owned by pharmaceutical groups GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.
Unilever plans to create five distinct business groups — Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream.
“Each business group will be fully responsible and accountable for their strategy, growth, and profit delivery globally,” it said.
