Ben & Jerry’s sues Unilever about the head office

The dispute between the ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s and the parent company Unilever intensifies. Ben & Jerry’s accuses Unilever of releasing his CEO Dave Stever without consulting the corporate management.

In a lawsuit before a federal court in Manhattan, Ben & Jerry’s said on Tuesday evening that Unilever said on March 3, Stever was released – not because of the lack of performance, but because of his support for the company’s social mission and brand integrity.

Unilever already accused Stever in January to support Ben & Jerry’s social policy initiatives too much. According to Ben & Jerry’s, the interventions have now achieved a “new measure of oppression”.

In February, Unilever Ben & Jerry’s prevented the Black History Month and recently prohibited from working on Mahmoud Khalil’s release-a US stay with Pro-Palestinian protests in Columbia University and who wants to deport the Trump government.

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s were initially not available for comment. Stever has been CEO since May 2023 and has been working in the company since 1988, where he started as a tour guide. It was initially unclear whether he is still working for Ben & Jerry’s.

The argument is part of a ongoing lawsuit by Ben & Jerry’s against Unilever, with which the company wants to defend its independence and social commitment. The ice cream manufacturer was taken over by Unilever in 2000. The tensions between the two companies have been smoldering since 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s stopped selling his products in the Israeli -occupied West Bank. Unilever later sold the business.

The consumer goods group plans to split its ice division with brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Langnese and Magnum this year. Unilever recently caused a sensation himself when his own CEO Hein Schumacher surprisingly exchanged it after less than two years.