Ice cream is a sweet treat beloved by all, but the controversy around Ben and Jerry’s has been anything but sweet. Unilever, the British parent company of the ice cream chain, fired CEO David Stever of Ben and Jerry’s. This caused an uproar from the company and resulted in the board suing Unilever, accusing them of dismissing David for his political activism.
It is no surprise that the ice cream chain has had a long history of activism over the years, supporting various social causes. The company has made many posts on its social media over such topics ever since David became CEO, which is the suspected reason for his removal.
If this is truly the reason, then it puts Unilever in a tricky position when it comes to being right or wrong. Businesses are protected by the First Amendment to advertise themselves in any way they see fit. A high-ranking company executive being fired over their political stances is not a good standard to set for other kinds of businesses.
Some might argue that the decision to remove someone for this is logical since the activism is likely turning away a portion of customers with different viewpoints. However, this decision will likely run off the people who continue to go to the shops, since the values of the company don’t seem to be legitimate. Hopefully, this decision will be overturned, and the parent company can connect with Ben and Jerry’s to figure out a way to compromise without throwing away money and people’s jobs.
