"The news was announced in an open letter published early on Wednesday to co-founder Ben Cohen's social media channels. It read in part: "It's with a broken heart that I've decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry's. I am resigning from the company Ben and I started back in 1978. This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I've ever made.""
"Unilever acquired the ice cream company in 2000 in a move that caused some to accuse Ben & Jerry's - which has long prioritized social justice and human rights in its branding and operations - of selling out. The merger agreement allowed Ben & Jerry's some level of independence, including retaining its own independent board of directors that had the freedom to pursue and support Ben & Jerry's social mission."
"At the time of the Unilever acquisition, a statement from Ben & Jerry's reps promised that its social mission would be "encouraged and well-funded" by Unilever. Greenfield claims in his current letter that "[this] independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever" is now "gone." In recent years, Ben & Jerry's has accused Unilever of failing to "recognize and respect" its social mission and brand integrity."
Jerry Greenfield resigned from Ben & Jerry's after 47 years, saying he could no longer remain an employee in good conscience. He announced his resignation in an open letter posted to Ben Cohen's social media channels. He cited a worsening relationship with parent company Unilever and said the independence promised at the 2000 acquisition is gone. Unilever bought the company in 2000 but the merger agreement had allowed Ben & Jerry's to retain an independent board and pursue a social mission. Ben & Jerry's has accused Unilever of failing to recognize and respect that mission and filed a lawsuit in November 2024 alleging contractual breaches and suppression of political posts.
Read at Eater
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]