Unilever's £17 million investment in Ukraine: New plant to bolster local economy
23 March 2024 14:29
On Friday, the international company Unilever began constructing a new plant in Biala Cerkiew in the Kyiv region. The factory will cost £17 million and create nearly 100 new jobs, as reported by Interfax Ukraine.
The factory will produce personal hygiene items such as shampoos and shower gels, primarily targeting the Ukrainian market.
The total area of the site for the investment is approximately 10.4 acres. The production capacity of the enterprise is over 5,500 tons of products annually. The completion of the factory construction is planned for the end of 2024.
- The location for constructing the new factory within the industrial park was carefully chosen. It boasts all the necessary transport and road infrastructure. The development of industrial parks is crucial for the reconstruction of the industry in the Kyiv region amid the war between Russia and Ukraine," said Ruslan Kravchenko, the head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, during the inauguration of the construction.
He added that "the opening of new manufacturing plants helps to increase the revenues and the well-being of local communities, raise tax contributions, and stimulate the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the region".
Two years without a raise as the company freezes the director's salary
At the end of last year, Unilever, the owner of brands such as Dove, Knorr, Lipton, and AXE, announced that the supervisory board decided to freeze the fixed salary of CEO Hein Schumacher for the next two years.
The decision to freeze salaries came after Schumacher's original pay package was rejected by shareholders in May, with nearly 60 percent of the votes against it. The board proposed a contract for the CEO that included a basic salary of £1.6 million, representing a 20 percent increase over the salary of his predecessor Alan Jope.
Reuters reported that Schumacher, who assumed the role of CEO of Unilever in July 2023, will not be eligible for a fixed salary increase in 2024 and 2025. The Remuneration Committee will assess his fixed salary level in 2026.
