LONDON—Unilever, which makes Vaseline skin care products and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, says it is laying off 1,500 staff as part of a company-wide restructuring.
The proposed changes mean that senior management jobs will be cut by about 15 percent while junior management roles will be reduced by 5 percent, it said Tuesday. The London-based consumer goods giant employs 149,000 people globally.
The changes, which are subject to consultation, will not affect factory teams, Unilever said in a statement posted on its website.
Under the reorganization, the company will be organized into five distinct groups: beauty and wellbeing, personal care, home care, nutrition, and ice cream.
The shakeup “will enable us to be more responsive to consumer and channel trends, with crystal-clear accountability for delivery,” CEO Alan Jope said.
The revamp comes swiftly after news this month that the company made an unsolicited 50 billion pound ($67 billion) bid to acquire GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer health care unit that was rejected, sending its shares tumbling and sparking a backlash from leading investors.
Unilever has more than 400 consumer brands, including Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Lipton tea, Dove soap, and Rexona deodorant.
