2001 SEAR report

Workplace

In 2001 Ben & Jerry’s employed 756 staff members: 430 at three manufacturing facilities and one distribution center; 204 at corporate offices in Vermont; 42 are on our national sales force; and 30 are at our company-owned scoop shops. We had 50 people in international operations in the United Kingdom, France and Japan. In addition, we employed roughly 75 temporary or seasonal staff in our company-owned scoop shops and at our Waterbury plant tour. Our workforce increased by 17 or 2.1% from 2000.

The following chart details the comprehensive benefits that were available to full-time employees. The average benefits expenditure per employee in 2001 was $10,892, compared to $10,257 in 2000. As a result of the acquisition by Unilever, employee stock purchases were eliminated in May of 2000.

As part of the merger agreement, a special bonus amount of $5,000,000 was distributed in early 2001 to employees, not including the Office of the Chief Executive Officer (OCEO), six months following the effective date of the merger, August, 2000. This special bonus was distributed equally among eligible full-time employees and pro-rated for part-time employees. Eligibility was based on whether they had been with the company prior to the merger announcement made on April 12, 2000. Anyone hired after April 12, 2000 was not eligible and employees who left the company before the distribution date (six months after the merger announcement) forfeited this special bonus. Full-time employees received $6,509.25 before taxes.

In 1998 the then Board of Directors approved a Livable Wage Policy for the company. We define a livable wage as a starting wage for a single person that will sustain a quality of life that includes expenditures for housing, utilities, out-of-pocket health care, transportation, nutrition, recreation, savings, taxes and miscellaneous expenses. Based on an analysis of such costs in Vermont, we determined a livable wage to be $9.60 per hour or $19,968 annually in 2001, an increase of $.20 per hour over 2000. Any new full-time employee hired on or after January 1, 2001 also received this livable wage rate.

Determining the profit sharing pool for 2001 was difficult given the many changes in our accounting practices as a result of the merger. After calculating the total pool amount based on previous year’s practices, the OCEO decided to increase the overall pool to ensure that each eligible employee’s profit-sharing check would not be less than the previous year’s. Profits were shared among all employees other than the senior management (OCEO) under a formula that allocated half the pool based on number of employees (735 in 2001) and the other half on tenure. In 2001 the pool amounted to $540,046. Each employee received $337.28 for the half of the pool based on headcount and $4.72 per month of service for the half based on tenure. 2001 was the final year of the profit-sharing program. Going forward the company is considering alternative incentive programs

In 2001 the compensation ratio of top-to-bottom was 16-to-1

Although there was no major shift in gender equity in pay overall, data showed a shift in middle managers where women were no longer paid .02% more than men, but were being paid .02% less, a difference of .04% in 2001.

In 2001, 60% of our workforce was male and 40% female, compared to 56% male and 44% female in 2000, and 57% male and 43% female in 1999.

In 2001, 40% of open positions (outside of the Office of the Chief Executive Officer) were filled internally, compared to 51% in 2000 and 58% in 1999.

In 2001 we offered training programs and staff development opportunities through Ben & Jerry’s University and department-specific training initiatives. The training programs utilized internal resources and external providers to deliver over 10,400 hours of classroom training, involving 701 employees from all departments and sites, as compared to 11,000 hours of classroom training involving 424 employees in 2000.

The Business & Values School offered courses in personal development and in targeted business skills. The key initiatives in 2001 focused on Project Management and Effective Communication. Additional programs offered were Presentation Skills, Business Writing, and Train-the-Trainer. The Leadership & Management School offered training in the Performance Development Planning and four workshops in the Supervisory Excellence series. The Technical School offered courses in job-specific skills. Key initiatives focused on Safety training and the Supply Chain supporting Manufacturing operations. Course offerings included: HazMat Response Team Training and HAZWOPER Spill Containment, Execution & Control of Operations and Strategic Management of Resources. In addition, the Information Systems Group provided over 1,200 hours of computer training through classroom and individual support for 595 employees.

In 2001 we had 28 people of color as compared to 34 in 2000. Vermont has a 2.1% nonwhite population. Among the eight senior managers that comprised the Office of the CEO, one was a woman.

In 2001 the six-member Advisory Board of Directors of the company included one African American woman.

In 2001 we employed 75 temporary/seasonal workers as compared to 141 in 2000.

In 1999, following a 1998 Union organizing vote by 19 maintenance employees at the St. Albans plant, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) became the authorized collective bargaining unit for that group. The company and the union negotiated a contract that took effect on November 10, 1999 and expired on October 31, 2001. The company and the union renegotiated the union contract. Like the first contract, this one is also modeled after the Ben & Jerry’s employee handbook.

At the beginning of 2001 there were 16 employees in the IBEW union, the same as in 2000. During the year there were no grievances.

Since 1990 we have administered a biennial Work Life Survey. In 1998 we completed a partial survey. A comprehensive survey was scheduled for 2000 but with the acquisition it was not undertaken. A survey is intended in May 2002 with evaluation available mid-July. In 2001 we were also looking at ways of incorporating our Work Life Survey with that of Unilever’s.

There were no workplace-related regulatory actions against the Company in 2001.