6th Jun 2006 14:00
Unilever PLC06 June 2006 UNILEVER AWARDS HR OUTSOURCING CONTRACT TO ACCENTURE Unilever today announced that it has awarded its global Human Resourcesoutsourcing contract to Accenture. This follows the announcement in April of anoutsourcing contract to Accenture for its European IT operation, and in Decemberlast year for its European financial transactional services to IBM. The Human Resources contract sees Unilever outsourcing the transactional andadministrative parts of the function globally. The contract coverstransactional, administrative and HR IT systems support for activities such asrecruitment and resourcing, reward, training, and performance management. The outsourcing programme is part of the company's One Unilever initiatives toincrease leverage of its scale, improve its marketplace competitiveness, deliverfunctional excellence, and create a more competitive cost-structure allowing itto focus on its consumers and customers. Unilever intends to minimise the impact on people by transferring staff toAccenture, early retirement, exploring alternative roles, natural attrition andthrough voluntary programmes. Unilever has a great deal of experience of managing change and, as well asdealing with people issues sensitively and professionally, it is committed toworking closely with the relevant employee representatives and works councils. Sandy Ogg, Unilever's chief HR officer, said: "This global outsourcing dealrepresents a major strategic choice for Unilever. We believe that it is best forour business if we concentrate on our core competencies and transfer what is ourback office and make it into someone else's front office. We can also leverageAccenture'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 & ServicesPractice, said: "This agreement should help support Unilever as it strives totransform its business. "By outsourcing functions such as human resources to Accenture, Unilever shouldbenefit from increased efficiencies, decreased costs and greater globalstandardization." -ends- June 6 2006 About Unilever - Unilever's mission is to add vitality to life. We meet everyday needs fornutrition, 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 goodswith strong local roots in more than 100 countries across the globe. Itsportfolio includes some of the world's best known and most loved brandsincluding twelve €1 billion brands and global leadership in many categories inwhich the company operates. The portfolio features brand icons such as: Knorr,Hellmann's, Flora, Bertolli, Dove, Lux, Pond's, Lynx, Sunsilk, Persil, Cif andDomestos. Unilever has around 206,000 employees in approaching 100 countries and generatedannual sales of €40 billion in 2005. For more information about Unilever and itsbrands, please visit www.unilever.com. About Accenture - Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcingcompany. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with itsclients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and aproven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills andtechnologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than 129,000people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$15.55 billionfor the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page is www.accenture.com. Contacts Tim Johns VP Global Media Relations Unilever PLC +44 20 7822 6805 [email protected] Benedict Payne Global Media Relations Accenture +44 20 7844 0440 [email protected] SAFE HARBOUR STATEMENT: This announcement may contain forward-lookingstatements, including 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of theUnited States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'expects', 'anticipates', 'intends' or the negative of these terms and othersimilar expressions of future performance or results and their negatives areintended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-lookingstatements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regardinganticipated developments and other factors affecting the Group. They are nothistorical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance. Because theseforward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are importantfactors that could cause actual results to differ materially from thoseexpressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including, amongothers, competitive pricing and activities, consumption levels, costs, theability to maintain and manage key customer relationships and supply chainsources, currency values, interest rates, the ability to integrate acquisitionsand complete planned divestitures, physical risks, environmental risks, theability to manage regulatory, tax and legal matters and resolve pending matterswithin current estimates, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments,political, economic and social conditions in the geographic markets where theGroup operates and new or changed priorities of the Boards. Further details ofpotential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in theGroup's filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the USSecurities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report & Accounts onForm 20-F. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of thisannouncement. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Groupexpressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly anyupdates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein toreflect any change in the Group's expectations with regard thereto or any changein events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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