Unilever Announces Sweeping Restructuring of Global Businesses

Unilever has announced an organizational restructuring that includes 1,500 layoffs and the creation of five business groups to replace the “matrix” structure it has used for much of its history, according to a Tuesday (Jan. 25) press release.

Starting April 1, Unilever will be organized into five areas: Beauty and Wellbeing; Personal Care; Home Care; Nutrition; and Ice Cream. Each area will be fully responsible and accountable for its strategy, growth and profit delivery globally, the release stated.

“Our new organizational 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,” said Unilever CEO Alan Jope in the release. “Moving to five category-focused business groups will enable us 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.”

The five new business groups will be backed by Unilever Business Operations, which will supply the technology, systems and processes to each group that will “drive operational excellence across the business,” the release stated.

Unilever also announced in the release these changes to its management team, as of April 1:

• Fernando Fernandez, executive vice president of Latin America, has been appointed president of Beauty and Wellbeing, which includes hair care, skin care, vitamins, minerals and supplements, as well as Unilever Prestige.
• Fabian Garcia, president of North America, has been appointed president of Personal Care, responsible for skin cleansing, deodorants and oral care.
• Peter ter Kulve will continue in his role as president of Home Care, responsible for fabric care, home and hygiene, and water and air.
• Hanneke Faber, president of Foods and Refreshment, has been appointed president of Nutrition, which will be home to scratch cooking, healthy snacking, functional nutrition, plant-based meat and food solutions.
• Matt Close, executive vice president of Ice Cream, has been appointed president of Ice Cream

Last week, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer rejected a 50 billion British pound (about $67.4 billion) offer from Unilever, saying it wants at least 60 billion British pounds (almost $81 billion) for their joint consumer healthcare venture.

Read more: GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever Spar Over Future of GSK’s Consumer Health Business