Unilever is preparing to cut up to 3,200 jobs across Europe as the Marmite maker battles to revive its performance.
The consumer goods giant, which also owns Dove, told senior executives this week that it was planning to axe around a third of office positions in Europe over the next year and a half.
On a company-wide call, Constantina Tribou, human resources chief, said that between 3,000 and 3,200 roles were likely to be affected across the continent, mostly in offices rather than on factory floors. The call was first reported by the Financial Times.
It comes months after Unilever first raised the prospect of job losses, saying in March that as many as 7,500 roles were at risk to create a “simpler, more focused company”.
Unilever has around 128,000 employees globally and 6,000 in the UK. Between 10,000 and 11,000 people work in its offices in Europe.
The European cuts are understood to be part of the wider global workforce reduction and are included in the 7,500 figure. No final decision has been made yet on where exactly the cuts will be made.
The changes are being overseen by Hein Schumacher, who took over as chief executive last July as the company was facing pressure over its poor performance.
He has been battling to revive confidence in Unilever after years of criticism that it was focusing too heavily on social purpose rather than profits.
![Hein Schumacher took over as chief executive last July](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/07/12/TELEMMGLPICT000323753989_17207890360390_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwSX5rhseiWKOo9p9OQ-ymek.jpeg?imwidth=350)
In October, Mr Schumacher said he would no longer seek to “force fit” all its brands with a social purpose, saying for some of them this “simply won’t be relevant or it will be an unwelcome distraction”.
It followed criticism from shareholders including Terry Smith, one of Britain’s best-known investors, who had accused the company of “virtue signalling”. He previously said: “A company which feels it has to define the purpose of Hellmann’s mayonnaise has, in our view, clearly lost the plot.”
Unilever unveiled the plan to cut jobs in March as part of a wider overhaul, which included splitting off its ice cream business. It has already recently sold its beauty brands.
A spokesman for Unilever said: “In March, we announced the launch of a comprehensive productivity programme, to drive focus and growth through a leaner and more accountable organisation. We are now, over the next few weeks, starting the consultation process with employees who may be impacted by the proposed changes.
“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.”