LONDON, March 19 — British consumer goods giant Unilever today said it would separate its ice cream unit, whose top-selling products include Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, in a likely demerger set to contribute to thousands of job cuts.

Creating a standalone ice cream company is part of a major overhaul that would “impact” about 7,500 mainly office-based jobs worldwide and save €800 million (US$870 million) over the next three years, Unilever said in a statement.