Ice-cream firm Ben & Jerry’s has said its chief executive, David Stever, was being removed by its parent company, Unilever, over the company’s political and social activism.
The allegation was part of a legal case filed in a US court by Ben & Jerry’s that says Unilever, which has owned the ice-cream firm since 2000, had broken a merger agreement by trying to silence its “social mission”.
One month ago, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of demanding that it stop publicly criticising US President Donald Trump.
A Unilever spokesperson said it was “disappointed that the confidentiality of an employee career conversation has been made public” and that it had sought to “engage the [Ben & Jerry’s] board and follow the correct process”.
On 19 March, Unilever sought a dismissal of Ben & Jerry’s complaint.
The UK-based consumer product giant said it supported Ben & Jerry’s social advocacy work, but that its social mission had evolved into advocacy for “one-sided, highly controversial, and polarising topics that put Unilever, B&J’s and their employees at risk”.
The filing with the US district court for the southern district of New York said Unilever had “repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including CEO David Stever, should they fail to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the social mission”.
Founded in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s has constantly taken a public stance on social issues such as climate change, gay rights and conservation.
The merger agreement with Unilever in 2000 created an independent board with the mission to protect the ice-cream brand’s values and mission. The independent board has now been informed by Unilever that Stever, who had been with the company since 1988 in various roles, has been dismissed. He had been chief executive since 2023.
Ben & Jerry’s court filing said the decision to oust Stever was made without any consultation, as required in the merger agreement.
In recent years Ben & Jerry’s has advocated for a ceasefire in Gaza and expressed support for Palestinian refugees. In 2021 it also proposed halting sales in the West Bank. Unilever has sought to stop it taking these positions, the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit alleged that Peter ter Kulve, the head of Unilever’s ice cream unit, was responsible for barring the board’s public campaigning over Israel’s actions. Ter Kulve was concerned about the brand’s “continued perception of anti-semitism,” it said.
Shahmeer Halepota, a lawyer representing the Ben & Jerry’s board, told The Washington Post there have been consistent efforts to undermine Ben & Jerry’s social mission, efforts that the litigation “seeks to nip in the bud.”
“There’s been changes in the leadership of Unilever, and we believe that, as a result, there’s been a difference in perspective and a more aggressive response,” Halepota said.
In a statement, Unilever said: “We reject the claims made by B&J’s social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly.”
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