NEW YORK: Ben & Jerry’s said its parent, Unilever, decided to oust the ice cream maker’s chief executive, Dave Stever, escalating a battle over the subsidiary’s independence on social policy issues.
In a Tuesday (Mar 18) night filing in Manhattan federal court, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever advised on Mar 3 it was removing Stever without consulting directors because of his commitment to the ice cream maker’s social mission and brand integrity, not because of concerns about his job performance.
It said Unilever chastised Stever in a January performance review for “repeatedly acquiescing” to Ben & Jerry’s promotion of social goals and has repeatedly warned personnel not to defy its efforts to “silence the social mission”.
Ben & Jerry’s also said Unilever’s attacks on its social mission have reached “new levels of oppressiveness.”
It said Unilever blocked it in February from honouring Black History Month, and more recently from supporting the release from detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a US legal permanent resident active in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University and who the Trump administration wants to deport.
Unilever and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours. Ben & Jerry’s and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Stever was named chief executive in May 2023, having been with Ben & Jerry’s since being hired as a tour guide in 1988. His current job status could not immediately be determined.
The new accusations came in Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit seeking to stop Unilever’s alleged efforts to dismantle its independent board and end its social activism.
They were included in a proposed amended complaint, which Ben & Jerry’s needs court permission to file.
Unilever had faced a Wednesday deadline to seek dismissal of Ben & Jerry’s earlier complaint.
