Unilever N.V.
UNILEVER AWARDS HR OUTSOURCING CONTRACT TO ACCENTURE
Corporate-news transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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UNILEVER AWARDS HR OUTSOURCING CONTRACT TO ACCENTURE
Unilever today announced that it has awarded its global Human Resources
outsourcing contract to Accenture. This follows the announcement in April
of an outsourcing contract to Accenture for its European IT operation, and
in December last year for its European financial transactional services to
IBM.
The Human Resources contract sees Unilever outsourcing the transactional
and administrative parts of the function globally. The contract covers
transactional, administrative and HR IT systems support for activities such
as recruitment and resourcing, reward, training, and performance
management.
The outsourcing programme is part of the company’s One Unilever initiatives
to increase leverage of its scale, improve its marketplace competitiveness,
deliver functional excellence, and create a more competitive cost-structure
allowing it to focus on its consumers and customers.
Unilever intends to minimise the impact on people by transferring staff to
Accenture, early retirement, exploring alternative roles, natural attrition
and through voluntary programmes.
Unilever has a great deal of experience of managing change and, as well as
dealing with people issues sensitively and professionally, it is committed
to working closely with the relevant employee representatives and works
councils.
Sandy Ogg, Unilever’s chief HR officer, said: “This global outsourcing deal
represents a major strategic choice for Unilever. We believe that it is
best for our business if we concentrate on our core competencies and
transfer what is our back office and make it into someone else’s front
office. We can also leverage Accenture’s capabilities and expertise. This
deal allows us to create a simpler, more agile Global HR function to better
support Unilever’s growth agenda.”
John Zealley, managing partner of Accenture’s European Consumer Goods &
Services Practice, said: “This agreement should help support Unilever as it
strives to transform its business.
“By outsourcing functions such as human resources to Accenture, Unilever
should benefit from increased efficiencies, decreased costs and greater
global standardization.”
June 6 2006
About Unilever –
Unilever’s mission is to add vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for
nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel
good, look good and get more out of life.
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer
goods with strong local roots in more than 100 countries across the globe.
Its portfolio includes some of the world’s best known and most loved brands
including twelve €1 billion brands and global leadership in many categories
in which the company operates. The portfolio features brand icons such as:
Knorr, Hellmann’s, Flora, Bertolli, Dove, Lux, Pond’s, Lynx, Sunsilk,
Persil, Cif and Domestos.
Unilever has around 206,000 employees in approaching 100 countries and
generated annual sales of €40 billion in 2005. For more information about
Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.
About Accenture –
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture
collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance
businesses and governments.
With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources
and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills
and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than
129,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of
US$15.55 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page is
www.accenture.com.
Contacts
Tim Johns Benedict Payne
VP Global Media Relations Global Media Relations
Unilever PLC Accenture
+44 20 7822 6805 +44 20 7844 0440
tim.johns@unilever.com benedict.j.payne@accenture.com
SAFE HARBOUR STATEMENT: This announcement may contain forward-looking
statements, including ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words
such as ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘intends’ or the negative of these terms
and other similar expressions of future performance or results and their
negatives are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and
assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting
the Group. They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of
future performance. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks
and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements, including, among others, competitive pricing
and activities, consumption levels, costs, the ability to maintain and
manage key customer relationships and supply chain sources, currency
values, interest rates, the ability to integrate acquisitions and complete
planned divestitures, physical risks, environmental risks, the ability to
manage regulatory, tax and legal matters and resolve pending matters within
current estimates, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments,
political, economic and social conditions in the geographic markets where
the Group operates and new or changed priorities of the Boards. Further
details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are
described in the Group’s filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext
Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
Annual Report & Accounts on Form 20-F. These forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except as required by any
applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation
or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the
Group’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
(c)DGAP 06.06.2006
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Language: English
Issuer: Unilever N.V.
Weena 455
3013 AL Rotterdam Niederlande
Phone: +31 (0)10 217 4000
Fax: +31 (0)10 217 4798
email: joanne.mcdonald@unilever.com
WWW: www.unilever.com
ISIN: NL0000009355
WKN: A0JMZB
indices:
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (General Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin-Bremen, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München,
Stuttgart
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