Unilever undergoes management restructuring, puts 1,500 jobs at risk

Unilever is undergoing a management overhaul across five divisions including Beauty, Personal Care and Ice Cream, putting jobs of several senior executives at risk. The restructuring will impact jobs even further down the management chain.

‘'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," says Chief Executive Alan Jope.

Unilever believes that moving to five category-focused business groups will enable the company 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," adds Alan.

Last week, Unilever also backed out from its plan to onboard GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer healthcare business after the drugmaker rejected its overtures and investors disparaged the offer. 

Unilever had initially expressed its intent to have a bigger slice of the personal healthcare and hygiene market, to offset slow growth in its foods business, according to a Bloomberg report.  However, GSK regarded the offer to be ‘fundamentally undervaluing’ the division. 

The Unilever-GSK case has brought the firm's management under the radar, with the head of Unilever's 13th biggest investor referring to the GSK bid as a ‘near death experience’.

Image Credit: Unilever