Unilever announced Tuesday (March 19) it plans to spin off its ice cream unit into a standalone business.

The consumer goods giant also revealed a new cost-savings program that would cut 7,500 jobs.

Unilever said the spin off will begin immediately, and expected to complete by the end of next year.

The company said it aims to deliver mid-single digit underlying sales growth and modest margin improvement after the split.

Unilever launched a program expected to deliver total cost savings of around $869 million over the next three years.

The proposed changes would impact around 7,500 mostly office-based roles globally.

Total restructuring costs are now anticipated to be around 1.2% of its turnover during the period.

In October, CEO Hein Schumacher laid out plans to simplify the business as he admitted Unilever had underperformed in recent years.

Schumacher had earlier said the company would focus on 30 key brands which account for 70% of its sales.

He also aimed to work on improving its gross margin and not undertake any major or transformational acquisitions.

Investors liked what they heard on Tuesday and shares jumped over 5%, before scaling back.