Ben & Jerry’s says CEO ousted by Unilever over activism: What to know
In an ongoing legal battle, the ice cream maker and its parent company, Unilever, have locked horns over Ben & Jerry’s social activism and particularly its advocacy for Palestinians during the Gaza war.
In a filing in a US federal court, ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s claimed that its UK-based parent company, Unilever, had removed CEO David Stever as part of ongoing efforts to silence Ben & Jerry’s social activism.
What happened: In a Tuesday night complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ben & Jerry's said that on March 3, Unilever informed the Ben & Jerry's board that it was removing Stever without consulting directors, claiming the dismissal was due to his “commitment to Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity ... rather than any genuine concerns regarding his performance history."
Ben & Jerry’s lawyers say that the agreement in place from 2000, when Unilever bought the ice cream company for $326 million, “protects Ben & Jerry’s interests by precluding the unilateral removal of its CEO.”
Unilever also owns Dove, Helmann's, Vaseline and other major brands and its market capitalization is currently over $144 billion.
