The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
South West; Gloucestershire; Wiltshire and North Somerset
Location of affected unit(s)
Somerdale, in Keynsham
Sector
Manufacturing Manufacture Of Food And Beverage Manufacture Of Food Products 10.82 - Manufacture of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery
New offshoring locations
Poland
400 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
9 February 2010
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date
31 December 2010
Description
Kraft Foods, who have recently taken over Cadbury, is to close its Somerdale plant in South West England with the loss of 400 jobs by 2011. Cadbury had initially planned to move jobs to Poland, but Kraft announced last week that it would keep the plant open. Kraft has now re-evaluated its position and decided that the plans to move production to Poland were so advanced that the cost would make it 'unrealistic' to halt them.
The company has said that it will honour Cadbury's former commitment to staff at the site regarding terms and conditions of closure and a commitment to rebuild the Fry Club on the Somerdale site. Union Unite said it sent the "worst possible message" to 6,000 other former Cadbury workers in the UK and Ireland, and Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for the food and drinks sector, said that Kraft had "deliberately misled many hundreds of decent men and women".
Sources
9 February 2010: BBC Website
Citation
Eurofound (2010), Kraft, Offshoring/Delocalisation in United Kingdom, factsheet number 70203, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/70203.
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