Thousands of jobs at Cadbury are under threat following the confectioner’s takeover by American food giant Kraft.
While Gordon Brown said he hoped jobs at Cadbury “can be secure”, industry analysts and unions have pointed to Kraft’s history of ruthlessness, reports the Times.
In the late 1990s Kraft rationalised its European confectionery business, which included Terry’s, cutting nearly 2,500 jobs, almost 10% of the workforce. Despite promises not to abandon the firm’s York headquarters, by 2005 Kraft had moved production of Terry’s to Eastern Europe.
Cadbury employs nearly 7,000 staff on eight sites in Britain and Ireland. Kraft chief executive and chairman Irene Rosenfeld told the Times that job losses could come, mainly in administration.
Business secretary Lord Mandelson said he would be “seeking an early meeting with Kraft senior management to hear how Kraft will fulfil the commitments they have made to Cadbury and its workforce.”
