Cadbury’s attempts to remain a top-selling independent driven company ended recently, when they accepted a takeover bid from American food giant, Kraft. It marks the end of an era for the company and for British chocolate in general. Add to that, and last week’s devastating but expected news of the closing of Cadbury’s UK plant leaves many angry and concerned for the future of such an established brand.
The Cadbury’s UK plant, in Somerdale, Bristol will be shut down by the beginning of 2011 and some 400 jobs are likely to be shed. It is expected that all production will move over to Kraft’s production factory in America, to link up with the likes of Toblerone and Philadelphia spread. It is a sad and sorry state, but expected when news of the takeover reached the stock exchanges in the middle of January.
The blame game for this recent news has already started, with Peter Mandelson attacking the chief executive of Kraft, Irene Rosenfeld. Mr. Mandelson had been assured a week earlier by Ms. Rosenfeld that there were no initial plans to shut down the factory, even if some jobs were shelved because of the expected cut-backs which everyone had anticipated. Mandelson was furious that Rosenfeld hadn’t been honest from the word go, so a possible deal might have been struck to keep everyone happy. Ms. Rosenfeld’s argument was that she didn’t have access to Cadbury’s books. This sounds like a lame excuse, considering this is the chief executive of a massive food chain. Why did Kraft bid then, if they didn’t have 100% access to all of Cadbury’s figures. It’s an extraordinary claim.
So, where does this leave the workers? Quite clearly, they are going to have to find other work, or face joining the depressing unemployment figures from the recession. No guarantees have been made for any decent references either, which is even more startling. Kraft may only have completed their takeover less than a fortnight ago, for approximately $11.5 billion, but already they making a lot of unpopular decisions and making senior figures unhappy. Cadbury’s had resisted their advances for five months, so little blame can be attached to them, as the offer they received had to be accepted, or risk going downhill. However, Kraft’s aims may well have been misplaced, and if they do with Cadbury’s what they did with the Terry’s brand in the 1990’s, then it will end up as an absolute tragedy.
Cadbury’s was one of the last iconic UK brands around, so it is very sorry to see this takeover happen. Though it had to happen for financial reasons, the moral reasons clearly aren’t the same. This is a very worrying time for Cadbury’s staff and its consumers, a bleak future waits as Kraft looks set to throw all of Cadbury’s established history down the toilet seat.
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