About 5.9 of global workforce to be cut to slash costs
Ice cream unit to be spun off into standalone company
Spinoff to yield modest sales growth, margin improvement

March 19 Reuters Unilever said on Tuesday it would spin off its ice cream unit, home to popular brands such as Magnum and Ben Jerry39;s, and cut 7,500 jobs in a new costsavings programme.

Investors cheered the plan, sending shares in Unilever, one of the world39;s biggest consumer goods companies, up nearly 6 at one point.

The spinoff will begin immediately and is expected to complete by the end of 2025, Londonlisted Unilever said. The ice cream business is in the process of moving to a separate head office in Amsterdam but CEO Hein Schumacher said on a call with journalists that he was open to options regarding where it could list.

The plan was welcomed by activist investor and board member Nelson Peltz39;s fund and by Unilever shareholder Aviva.

Unilever said it aims to deliver midsingledigit underlying sales growth and modest margin improvement after the split. The ice cream business accounts for about 16 of Unilever39;s global sales, and in some countries contributes a third or 40.

The group, whose other brands include Dove soap, Marmite and Hellmann39;s condiments, also launched a programme to save costs of around 800 million euros 869 million over the next three years. The proposed changes would impact around 7,500 jobs globally, mostly officebased, with total restructuring costs anticipated…