Labor Relations 23 April 2026 - 25 April 2026

Unilever PLC’s European employee representatives are demanding binding job guarantees as the company moves to merge its foods unit with McCormick. That throws another complication into Chief Executive Fernando Fernandez’s most ambitious shake-up yet. Hermann Soggeberg, who chairs the Unilever European Works Council—the group representing roughly 20,000 employees across Europe and Britain—said following discussions with management that job security and equitable working terms must remain “central to the process.” The McCormick deal sits at the heart of Unilever’s strategy to pivot from sluggish food divisions to faster-growing categories like beauty, wellbeing, and home care. Unilever reports first-quarter results April 30. Analysts surveyed by the company expect comparable sales growth of 3.6% for the period.