Peltz targets management cost savings at Unilever
BILLIONAIRE investor Nelson Peltz has put Unilever’s bloated head office in his crosshairs after grabbing a board seat at the consumer goods giant.
Mr Peltz, who has taken a 1.5pc stake in the conglomerate through his New York-based vehicle Trian, hinted at job cuts days after being appointed a nonexecutive director of the FTSE 100 firm.
“Just about everybody should be part of someone’s P&L [profit and loss],” he told The Sunday Times. “Huge amounts of people in corporate is an L.” Mr Peltz has arrived at a tense moment for the company behind Marmite and Dove – which is undertaking a restructuring that will involve sacking 1,500 staff and converting into five business groups.
It employs 150,000 people worldwide, but is under pressure after a failed bid for Haleon, Glaxosmithkline’s soonto-be-listed consumer healthcare unit. Shareholders have also complained that the company is more focused on environmental and Left-wing political issues than its financial performance.
After the planned restructuring, it will more closely resemble rival Procter & Gamble, which had Trian as a shareholder when it overhauled its own operations three years ago. Unilever shares jumped 9.4pc on Tuesday after it announced Mr Peltz would join and also serve on its compensation committee.
Mr Peltz said his company tries “to get close to” the leaders of the companies it takes a stake in – in this case, embattled chief executive Alan Jope.
“We believe they come to understand that we are there to help them,” said Mr Peltz. “Once CEOS realise that, they understand they’ve got a real ally in the boardroom.” Analysts at JP Morgan said management changes “may not be imminent” at Unilever, arguing that a demerger of its food and refreshment operations or strategic investments may be more likely at this stage.