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By Jonathan Stempel and Jessica DiNapoli
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ben & Jerry's accused its parent company, Unilever, of deciding to oust the ice cream maker's chief executive Dave Stever because he let it speak out on social policy issues, escalating a battle over the subsidiary's independence.
In a Tuesday night filing in Manhattan federal court, Ben & Jerry's said Unilever advised on March 3 it was "removing and replacing" Stever without the required approval from its board, after repeatedly threatening personnel if they did not comply with the parent's "efforts to silence the social mission."
It said this violated an agreement the companies signed in 2000 when London-based Unilever bought Ben & Jerry's.
Stever became chief executive in May 2023, and has been with the Vermont-based maker of Cherry Garcia since starting as a tour guide in 1988.
Ben & Jerry's sued Unilever in November to stop alleged efforts to dismantle its board and end its progressive social activism, which has included protesting the war in Gaza, supporting a movement to defund police, and attempting to criticize U.S. President Donald Trump.
The latest accusations were made in a proposed amended complaint, which Ben & Jerry's needs court permission to file.
Unilever fired back on Wednesday afternoon, seeking a dismissal of Ben & Jerry's earlier complaint.
It said it supports Ben & Jerry's and its social advocacy work, but the social mission has evolved into advocacy for "one-sided, highly controversial, and polarizing topics that put Unilever, B&J's, and their employees at risk."
According to Unilever, the change was driven by Ben & Jerry's Chair Anuradha Mittal and began in 2021, when the company decided to stop selling ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. That business was later sold.
Unilever's filing does not address the proposed amended complaint or Stever's job.
In a statement, Unilever said the 2000 agreement governed removal decisions, and it was "disappointed that the confidentiality of an employee career conversation has been made public."
Ben & Jerry's website still shows Stever as chief executive.
Shahmeer Halepota, a lawyer for Ben & Jerry's, said Unilever's "revisionism" starkly contrasted with its executives' threats, while "the true disappointment" was attempting to oust Stever for honoring Ben & Jerry's integrity and social mission.
CORPORATE CRUSADE AGAINST DEI
Doug Chia, president of advisory firm Soundboard Governance, said the alleged censorship reflects corporate fear of the Trump administration's "crusade against all things DEI," referring to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
"For a corporation, they don't want to take any chances on any statements about any social issue or political issue or geopolitics," Chia said.
He said some of Ben & Jerry's stances are "pushing it very far in a progressive direction in a very vocal way," more reflective of advocacy groups or non-governmental organizations than a mainstream maker of ice cream.
Ben & Jerry's has had a socially conscious mission since its 1978 founding by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.
Many companies have retreated on social policies that Trump and other conservatives deem too liberal, as the president seeks to reshape the federal government and parts of corporate America.
Last month, Ben & Jerry's accused Unilever of unilaterally banning it from publicly criticizing Trump, ostensibly because of the "new dynamic."
In Wednesday's filing, Unilever said it offered to work with Ben & Jerry's board on a statement "focused on substantive issues without personal attacks on President Trump," but the board refused its "reasonable and prudent calls for balance."
Unilever plans to spin off Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Magnum and other ice cream brands later this year.
It is simplifying a product portfolio whose dozens of other brands include Dove, Hellmann's, Knorr, Surf and Vaseline.
The case is Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc v Unilever et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-08641.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Alistair Bell and Kim Coghill)
