Case

Unilever

In March 2024 Unilever announced a three-year plan to cut about 7,500 jobs worldwide, spin off its ice-cream business as a separate company and save about €800m. Used to discuss how restructuring is communicated and the psychological contract.

Industry
Consumer goods
Frameworks applied
Theory E and Theory O of changeKotter's eight-step change model
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Frameworks applied

This case is read through the frameworks below.

  • Theory E and Theory O of changeWhen leading a major organisational change, should a CEO pursue fast economic value through hard levers (Theory E), build culture and capability (Theory O), or combine both?
  • Kotter's eight-step change modelWhen a CEO launches a major transformation, which steps, in what order, stop the change stalling halfway and anchor it in the organisation's culture?

Sources

References

Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.

  1. BBC News (2024) Unilever is cutting jobs and splitting off its ice cream unit. BBC News.No DOIbbc.comSource page