The move, announced by fellow co-founder Ben Cohen on social media early Wednesday, follows years of mounting tensions between #Unilever, which acquired the ice cream company in 2000, & the Ben & Jerry’s founders, who have long been outspoken on social issues. The relationship especially deteriorated since the start of the #war in #Gaza.
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In the statement, Mr. Greenfield said he could no longer “in good conscience” remain at the company he helped start in 1978.
Mr. Greenfield said that the “independence to pursue our values” that had been guaranteed for Ben & Jerry’s when it merged with Unilever in 2000 had been lost. “Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power,” he added.
Under the acquisition deal, #Unilever agreed to let #BenAndJerrys maintain an #independent board to oversee the brand, allowing Ben & Jerry’s to place “guardrails” around its social #activism & giving its founders continued control of the company.
For over 20 years, the company was able to speak out on issues it cared about, Mr. Greenfield wrote. But, he added, “It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that #independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone.”
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