The Jerry from Ben & Jerry's has quit - and is criticizing parent company Unilever on his way out

"There won't be a Jerry at Ben & Jerry's anymore. Jerry Greenfield, one of the ice cream brand's co-founders, said late Tuesday that he was leaving the company. Greenfield criticized the ice-cream brand's parent company, Unilever, in his announcement, saying that it had silenced the brand's speech on social and political issues. "It's with a broken heart that I've decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee at Ben & Jerry's," Greenfield wrote in a statement shared by his cofounder, Ben Cohen, on X. "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 bought Ben & Jerry's for $326 million in 2000. The acquisition contained a provision that allowed Ben & Jerry's to advocate for social and political causes. In 2021, that part of the agreement was tested after Ben & Jerry's said that it would stop selling its ice cream in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. A dispute between Unilever and the brand followed, including a fight in court. "It's profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone," Greenfield wrote in his statement."

Jerry Greenfield resigned from Ben & Jerry's after 47 years, citing Unilever's restrictions on the brand's social and political speech. Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000 for $326 million and the sale included a provision allowing the brand to advocate for social causes. That provision was tested in 2021 when the brand halted sales in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, prompting a legal and corporate dispute with Unilever. Greenfield said the brand's independence was gone. Unilever thanked Greenfield for his service, said it disagreed with his perspective, and is spinning off its ice cream business.

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