More jobs go at Ben & Jerry's - Company News - Ben and Jerry's Homemade Inc. cuts 52 jobs - Brief Article

Eurofood, Nov 7, 2002

Quirky US-based ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's has announced 52 job cuts, around 6% of its current workforce. The cut backs at Ben & Jerry's, founded by two socially conscious hippies, and consequently acquired by global food giant Unilever, follows on from further trimmings earlier in the year.

In May the US ice cream firm expanded its one site but closed two other resulting in a net loss of 69 jobs. Ben & Jerry's said the latest cuts were designed to "bolster its leadership position".

Although the company would not comment further on the latest round of job cuts, its spokesperson Chrystie Heimert has been quoted in the US press as saying that Ben & Jerry's had been planning the cuts due to "fast and furious" changes in the ice cream market. Heimert told the Burlington Free Press that Ben & Jerry's arch rival Haagen-Dazs had made an offer to buy Ben & Jerry's distribution system.

Nestle, the Swiss-based owners of Haagen-Dazs, has seen its US business gain momentum recently, boosted by the acquisition of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream.

Yves Couette, chief executive officer at Ben & Jerry's said the latest job cuts had been a difficult decision but one that was taken for the sake of the company's long-term future.