By Kelly Cloonan

Unilever said it is evaluating its top 200 leaders and plans on "refreshing" about 25% amid a broad shakeup under its new chief executive.

CEO Fernando Fernandez, who took the helm in March, said Wednesday that the one-by-one assessments would aim to ensure that the company's leaders are the benchmark within the market.

"Are they good enough? Are they at the level that Unilever deserves?" he said at Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference. "We expect 25% refreshing from that."

The company plans to fast-track emerging stars and bring in new hires, and has also boosted its incentive system, he said.

The planned shakeup comes after months of job cuts amid a broader restructuring plan as the company looks to improve its results.

Unilever has reduced about 18% of its white-collar workforce in the last 18 months in an effort to bolster accountability within the organization, Fernandez said.

"Unilever has been an inconsistent performer," he said, adding that the company's results have struggled since Kraft Heinz's takeover bids in 2017. "Time flies and things change a lot, as you know, but that really derailed Unilever a lot. We lost our focus on volume growth."

The company continues to target 800 million euros ($933.5 million) in savings by the end of 2026, and will deliver 650 million euros in savings by the end of this year, he said.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 03, 2025 12:31 ET (16:31 GMT)

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