Unilever plans to cut 20,000 jobs and sell slow-growing businesses in a bid to speed its recovery and fight surging food costs.

Shares in the Anglo-Dutch group leapt as much as 8.4 percent on hopes it is finally getting to grips with years of underperformance.

Unilever said that the restructuring would affect about a tenth of its 180,000-strong workforce. The cuts would be mainly in Europe and would be implemented over four years.

Unilever is the world's third-biggest food and consumer goods company, with more than 400 brands that include Dove soap, Knorr soups and Sunsilk shampoo. The group was formed in 1930 from the merger of British and Dutch companies.

Unilever said it would close or streamline around 50 of its 300 manufacturing sites, reduce its regional centres from around 100 to about 25 and shed around 11 percent of its workforce in a drive to save 1.5 billion euros a year by 2010.

It also pledged to sell over 2 billion euros of turnover from slower growing businesses, including its North American laundry operation, and step up innovation, particularly in fast-growing product areas such as personal care.

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