Unilever: number of employees globally 2003-2023

Unilever is a multi-national consumer goods company that produces food, beverages, cleaning agents and beauty and personal care products. As of 2023, the company employed a total of approximately 128,000 people around the world. The number of Unilever employees has fallen over the past number of years and are significantly lower than in 2003, when the company’s workforce was above 230,000.

Unilever

Unilever began in 1929 as a merger between a margarine producer and a soap maker. Today, Unilever boasts over 400 brands in the food and refreshments, personal care, and home care markets. Some of the company’s most recognizable brands are Knorr, Dove, Axe, and Lipton. Unilever is one of the leading fast-moving consumer goods companies in the world. Nestlé, Procter & Gamble (P&G), and PepsiCo are other leading companies in this area.

Unilever’s key markets

A large portion of Unilever’s revenue is generated from personal and household care product sales. Unilever had the second highest sales of any company operating in this sector. P&G, one of Unilver’s biggest rivals, was the only household/personal care company to outsell Unilever that year. The food and beverage industry is Unilever’s other key market. The beverage market is quite segmented and highly competitive, as such Unilever ranks lower on the list of the world's leading beverage companies .