Global consumer goods company Unilever announced as part of a strategic update that it will spin off its ice cream unit and cut 7,500 positions from its workforce of about 128,000.

The company said in the announcement that ice cream has a very different operating model to its other consumer products and the spin-off to a stand alone business would allow management to increasingly focus on categories and brands that have complementary operating models.

The unit being separated has five of the top 10 selling global ice cream brands including Wall’s, Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s. Unilever said that a demerger of the business is the most likely way the business would be spun off, but that “other options for separation would be considered”.

The process is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

Under-performing

While Unilever’s full year results for 2023 put turnover at the unit at €7.9bn, the company said that ice cream was among the sectors which experienced the highest input cost inflation during the year. Sales growth in ice cream last year was entirely driven by price increases passed on to customers, with the volume sold falling by 6%.

Unilever did say that the poor weather during last summer in Europe was a significant factor in the results for ice cream.

Unilever’s spin off of its ice cream unit is part of a wider reorganisation of the company which has over 400 consumer brands. As part of that reorganisation aimed at improving focus and efficiency at the multinational the company also announced that it will be cutting 7,500 positions, mostly office-based roles, globally.