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Ben & Jerry's claims Unilever ousted its boss over political activism (www.bbc.com)

submitted 3 months ago by geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml to c/progressivepolitics@lemmy.world

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Ben & Jerry's has said its chief executive, David Stever, was being removed by its parent company, Unilever, in a growing dispute over the ice cream company's political activism.

The allegation was part of a legal case filed in a US court by Ben & Jerry's that says Unilever violated a merger agreement by trying to silence its "social mission".

It comes a month after the ice cream company accused Unilever of demanding that it stops publicly criticising US President Donald Trump.

The ice cream maker was bought by Unilever in 2000 through a merger agreement that created an independent board tasked with protecting the ice cream brand's values and mission.

But Unilever and Ben & Jerry's have been at loggerheads for a while. Their relationship soured in 2021 when Ben & Jerry's announced it was halting sales in the West Bank. The dispute escalated over the last year as Ben & Jerry's advocated for a ceasefire in Gaza.

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[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 38 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (7 children)

Political activism is half of their brand. Removing that makes it like every other ice cream, removing the only differentiator, making the brand worthless. There's no shareholder value in a brand you killed " to protect value".

You just look even more idiotic than everyone outside the investment bubble already think you are.

[–] expatriado@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (6 children)

i wouldn't downplay the quality of their product, best among the dozen brands available in my city

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The political activism might have had part in it. Not treating people and animals like garbage and squeezing every drip of profits out of the ingredients tends to improve the quality.

[–] Poem_for_your_sprog@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

Yeah it's basically the only ice cream I've purchased in the last decade. Had no idea about the political activism until like a year ago. I'd buy even more but I'd break the bathroom scale.

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