Unilever agrees two-year worker protection after $65 billion McCormick merger, memo shows

Unilever, the maker of Knorr stock cubes and Hellmann's mayonnaise, employs some 4,800 people in its food business across Europe and Britain, roughly a third of its regional workforce.

London-listed Unilever's deal with McCormick, agreed in March, is expected to close mid-2027.

The company's European Works Council, which represents nearly 20,000 employees across Europe and Britain, has expressed concern that the merger could lead to job losses and warned that prolonged uncertainty could trigger industrial action.

Since the merger was announced, trade union federations and the European Works Council have been trying to clinch a deal for Unilever employees.

The security is slightly less than it was in the case of Magnum, whose workers received a commitment of three years.