Food to detergent group Unilever plans to cut thousands of management positions to speed up the decision making process, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Bloomberg quoted company sources who said ‘numerous regional and divisional roles that chief executive officer Alan Jope believes have slowed innovation’ would go.

In total, several thousand jobs may disappear, out of a global workforce of 150,000.

Unilever has declined to comment but Bloomberg said the job cuts could be announced this week. The news agency said Jope has come under increasing pressure to chart a new course to boost the company’s share price.

The news coincides with the arrival of activist shareholder Nelson Peltz who has built up a considerable stake in the company, although its size and his intentions are unclear, Bloomberg said.