400 Cadbury workers to lose jobs despite promise

Hundreds of Cadbury workers at a factory that the new owner Kraft promised to keep open face losing their jobs.

The Somerdale plant at Keynsham, near Bristol, will in effect shut down with the loss of 400 jobs, although it may remain open with a skeleton staff, The Times has learnt.

Cadbury had planned to close it this year as it moved more of its confectionery manufacturing to Poland. Yet Kraft said, in its first approach to Cadbury shareholders in September, it “would be in a position to continue to operate” the factory. Most of the 400 remaining staff are scheduled to leave between March and June.

Kraft, which bought Cadbury for £11.4 billion last month, has not yet made any move to retain the workers and it is understood that they will leave as planned.

Jennie Formby, Unite national officer, said: “Kraft were being very irresponsible to talk about changes at Somerdale. Some of the workers have had their hopes raised by Kraft management, and if they are going to lose their jobs then that is shameful.” Unite will meet Somerdale workers tomorrow.

A Kraft spokesman said: “We need to review with Cadbury management before making a decision. We are sincere in our intent to keep Somerdale.”

Kraft sacked Cadbury’s top three executives within 24 hours of gaining control of the company last week. Todd Stitzer, chief executive, Roger Carr, chairman, and Andrew Bonfield, chief financial officer, were dismissed on Wednesday.

While the maker of Dairylea has not detailed its plans for Cadbury jobs, $1.3 billion (£820 million) has been earmarked for restructuring costs, including redundancy pay. The company believes it can make savings of $675 million a year within the next three years, suggesting that large job cuts are likely within Kraft and Cadbury workforces.

British consumers are afraid that the American group will change the appearance and taste of Cadbury brands, which include Dairy Milk and Crunchie. Thousands have joined groups protesting against the absorption of the British stalwart into an American conglomerate — although close to half of Cadbury was owned by American shareholders before the approach from Kraft.

Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft chief executive and chairman, has pledged that the takeover would benefit manufacturing jobs in Britain.

She told The Times after Kraft’s successful bid that administrative jobs would be the first to go.

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, said last week that at a meeting with him, Ms Rosenfeld had declined to commit to specific job numbers.

Town's soft centre: Behind the story

It is more than a place of business; it is a source of pride, a social hub, a big employer and an historic link to the chocolate business that shaped the town. When, in 1923, J. S. Fry and Son moved its operations to a greenfield site midway between Bristol and Bath, the vision was simple: to offer workers and their families a pleasant place to work, rest and play.

The Somerdale factory lies on the edge of Keynsham, a small town in Somerset, and incorporates the Fry Club, a sports and social club with acres of playing fields. Cadbury took over the factory in 1936 and has maintained the community values on which the plant was built. In the past decade it has funded a BMX track and a youth centre.

Beside the banks of the Avon and clearly visible from the Great Western Railway, the factory — with its long, tree-lined drive — cuts an attractive sight, while the Fry Club remains a central feature of life in Keynsham.

Catherine Boyle, The Times 09-02-2010