Key facts
- Unilever agreed to a two-year employment protection for its European and British food business workers.
- This protection follows the planned $65 billion merger of the unit with McCormick, expected to close mid-2027.
- The guarantee extends beyond typical one-year protections under EU and UK law.
- Unilever employs approximately 4,800 people in its European and British food business.
- The European Works Council had raised concerns about job losses and potential industrial action.
Unilever has agreed to a two-year employment protection for its European and British food business workers, a guarantee that extends beyond typical legal requirements following its planned $65 billion merger with U.S. spice maker McCormick. The deal, expected to close in mid-2027, aims to secure the terms and conditions for approximately 4,800 employees in the new McCormick-Unilever Foods business until at least mid-2029.
The European Works Council, representing nearly 20,000 employees, had expressed concerns about potential job losses and prolonged uncertainty since the merger's announcement. The two-year commitment, confirmed in a memo seen by Reuters, surpasses the one-year renegotiation period usually allowed under EU and British law after sales or spin-offs.
A Unilever spokesperson confirmed progress in engaging with works councils and reaching agreements on employee terms and consultation timelines. However, the security provided is less than the three-year commitment given to workers in a previous deal involving Magnum. Global union federation IUF, through its assistant general secretary Sarah Meyer, expressed hope that similar protections would be extended worldwide to avoid disparities in worker treatment, citing a past instance with the ice cream separation where non-European workers received fewer guarantees.