The maker of Dove soap and other popular household products has stopped recruiting new employees worldwide for a minimum of three months, blaming economic pressures from the expanding Middle East conflict, according to an internal company document obtained by Reuters.
Unilever announced the immediate hiring halt across all positions in a memo distributed to workers last week, pointing to substantial obstacles created by the month-long Iran conflict.
Companies across various industries including aviation and retail are working to protect themselves from the Iran war’s impact, which has disrupted international commerce and created unprecedented interruptions to oil and gas distribution worldwide. Rising energy prices are already affecting other sectors, causing slower manufacturing in chemical and plastic industries.
“Macro economic and geopolitical realities, especially in the Middle East conflict… bring some significant challenges for the coming few months,” wrote Fabian Garcia, who leads Unilever’s personal care division, in the staff memo.
“With this in mind, the Unilever Leadership Executive team has agreed a global recruitment freeze at all levels. This will be effective immediately and last for a minimum of three months.”
The British consumer products company controls many internationally recognized brands. Although most manufacturing occurs in the same regions where products are sold, the company purchases chemicals, food ingredients, packaging materials and other supplies that require significant energy to produce.
In an official response, Unilever confirmed that because of the “uncertain external environment, we have decided to put in place a temporary pause on our recruitment,” stating the company will “always adjust our plans as necessary.”
The recruitment suspension adds to existing expense reduction efforts Unilever began in 2024, designed to eliminate approximately 800 million euros ($916.72 million) in spending over three years. Those earlier changes were projected to impact roughly 7,500 positions worldwide, primarily office workers.
The company’s workforce has shrunk to 96,000 employees from about 149,000 in 2020.
Unilever has faced difficulties increasing sales volume throughout its operations following the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced March 20 that it’s discussing selling its food division to competitor McCormick & Company.
The potential deal, which would represent a significant restructuring under CEO Fernando Fernandez, would likely allow British shareholders to maintain controlling interest in the combined organization, according to recent Reuters reporting.
