(L-R) Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s, partnered with MoveOn to manus retired escaped crystal pick astatine Franklin Square successful Philadelphia during their Scoop The Vote circuit to get-out-the-vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats down the ballot connected September 16, 2024 successful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Lisa Lake | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield has stepped down from the crystal pick shaper aft astir 50 years amid an ongoing enactment with genitor institution Unilever.
In an unfastened missive shared connected Wednesday by the eponymous brand's co-founder Ben Cohen, Greenfield dubbed the determination "painful," but said that the Unilever had silenced the company's quality to talk up connected planetary issues, including the struggle successful Gaza.
"It's with a breached bosom that I've decided I tin nary longer, successful bully conscience, and aft 47 years, stay an worker of Ben & Jerry's," Greenfield wrote successful a station connected X.
The departure comes contempt a merger statement with Unilever — which bought Ben & Jerry's for $326 cardinal successful 2000 — that was expected to safeguard the Vermont-based company's independence.
Ben & Jerry's has agelong been vocal connected societal activism issues. However, it came to a caput with its proprietor Unilever since astatine slightest 2021, erstwhile the ice-cream shaper said it would halt selling its products successful the Israeli-occupied West Bank successful effect to the struggle successful Gaza.
"It's profoundly disappointing to travel to the decision that that independence, the precise ground of our merchantability to Unilever, is gone," Greenfield wrote.
Unilever is successful the process of spinning disconnected its crystal pick concern into a caller entity known arsenic the Magnum Ice Cream Company, which is acceptable to database successful November.
A Unilever spokesperson said the institution disagreed with Greenfield's perspective, and that it had sought to "engage some co-founders successful a constructive speech connected however to fortify Ben & Jerry's almighty values-based position."
"We stay committed to Ben & Jerry's unsocial three-part ngo – product, economical and societal – and stay focused connected carrying guardant the bequest of peace, love, and crystal pick of this iconic, much-loved brand. Ben & Jerry's is simply a arrogant and thriving portion of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and we look guardant to further gathering connected its success," the spokesperson added.
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