Unilever, the CEO of Unilever, says on political activity

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Ben & Jerry claims that its mother company, which was launched by the CEO of the CEO, after less than two years in the role as a description between the two sides on the political activity of the ice cream brand.

In a legal complaint filed at the American District Court of the Southern Region in New York on Tuesday evening, Bin and Jerry He claimed that Unilever, CEO David Stefer, after his failure to comply with the efforts of the parent company to prevent it from speaking on political issues.

“Unilever has repeatedly threatened the employees of Ben & Jerry, including CEO David Stefer, if they failed to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the social mission,” the file.

“On March 3, 2025, Unilever informed the independent council that they were removing and replacing Mr. Stefer as an executive president of Ben & Jerry.”

Unilever He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This deposit is the latest clarification between the brand and its mother company on how to connect Ben & Jerry’s “its social mission”, including its call for a ceasefire in Gaza and the support of Palestinian refugees.

Last November, Bin and Jerry I filed a complaint He claimed that Unilever tried to prevent her from calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and preventing her from expressing the support of Palestinian refugees. Unilever refused the claims.

The two sides have a history of the dispute over Israel and Palestine. In 2022, Ben & Jerry raised the prosecution of Unilever after the parent company She prevented her attempts To stop selling ice cream in the occupied territories by getting rid of the Israeli arm of the brand to a local license.

A product for ice cream flavors such as Phish Food and Chunky Monkey was obtained by Utyver in 2000. The integration agreement was concluded between the two, as it established an independent council to protect the Ben & Jerry values ​​and brand integrity.

The Council claims that Unilever is trying to “dismantle it” and prosecute individual members, and violates the conditions of the integration agreement.

“Dave has courageously with the social mission and the company’s social values,” said Anwawraha Metal, Chairman of the Independent Board of Directors.

She added: “What Dave did not do is what Unilever would like to do, which is to supervise the dismantling of Ben & Jerry’s mission, the progressive values ​​and the 2000 integration agreement that protects the position of Ben & Jerry as a fully owned company.”

Unilever, which makes daily goods from shampoo and laundry of makeup, In the separation process Its works of 8 billion euros of ice cream work, with the aim of including it in the Netherlands.

Stever was upgraded to the CEO in May 2023 and was the chief marketing official in Ben & Jerry. He joined the company as a tourist guide for the factory in 1988.