Cadbury again...

[Haselsh1]

I see this morning that Cadbury under the guise of Kraft Foods are already wielding the axe, they are closing a production facility in Bristol with the loss of 400 jobs. Didn't we see all this when they took over Terry's up here in York...??? And, guess what...? They are moving the facility to Poland where they now make chocolate orange.

[StanleyB]

What's the problem with that? British companies have been closing UK factories and manufacturing goods outside of the UK for years. So when foreign companies buy up British companies, we shouldn't be surprised if they too move out of the UK.

[Filterlab]

Fair enough, it's all about cost savings these days. Britain is not a manufacturing country these days (on the whole) and those in manufacturing jobs should always be looking elsewhere as their employment status is always under threat regardless of their industry. I worked for several manufacturing companies, and the writing was on the wall 15 years ago. That's why I moved into a services for the legal industry business.

[Steve Toy]

What annoys me is an essentially state-owned UK bank facilitated the take-over that resulted in these job losses.

We have government which largely through its taxation policy makes us uncompetitive to begin with before then allowing the jobs to go overseas.

We are shafted both ways.

[Steve Toy]

Stanley, guilty conscience perchance?

We need to abolish employer NI contributions. They are nothing more than a tax on jobs.

[StanleyB]

Stanley, guilty conscience perchance?
Me personally? None whatsoever. I was born in a country where just about everything was imported from the UK. That even included sections of the government and the armed forces. So I grew up with people who suffered from a lack of opportunities in local manufacturing jobs, and who were in the whole reliant on positions in the service sector.

[Jonboy]

We need to abolish employer NI contributions. They are nothing more than a tax on jobs.

Here Here

[Alex_UK]

I think if you delve a bit deeper, this story is not quite as simple as that Shaun.

* Cadbury were already planning to close this plant, and the project was already well under way to do so, before Kraft came along.

* Kraft said they would try and avoid closing the factory and job losses in Bristol.

* They reviewed the Project, but it is all ready too advanced to make it viable to reverse the decision.

Not quite the "hatchet job" it appears, and whilst I am against the loss of Cadbury, Kraft have done nothing wrong here, IMO, (though it may only have been a cynical ploy and there was no intention of reversing the decision anyway...)

[Jeremy Marchant]

What I found deeply unimpressive about Cadbury was the chief exec (or was it the chairman) going on national media saying that his responsibility was legally to his shareholders (it is) and a recommendation of the Kraft bid was therefore unavoidable.

However, his responsibility was not only to the shareholders. It was to all stakeholders and, even without looking, I am confident in saying that the Cadbury website would have assured of us of their recognition of their duties to all stakeholders.

Not all duties are legal and responsibilities to other stakeholders, of whom the employees are only the most obvious group, are just as important, whether or not enshrined in law.

[Haselsh1]

I think if you delve a bit deeper, this story is not quite as simple as that Shaun.

* Cadbury were already planning to close this plant, and the project was already well under way to do so, before Kraft came along.

* Kraft said they would try and avoid closing the factory and job losses in Bristol.

* They reviewed the Project, but it is all ready too advanced to make it viable to reverse the decision.

Not quite the "hatchet job" it appears, and whilst I am against the loss of Cadbury, Kraft have done nothing wrong here, IMO, (though it may only have been a cynical ploy and there was no intention of reversing the decision anyway...)


Alex UK... I get your point entirely.
Since posting this thread I have gained a much better understanding of what the situation is here.

[Macca]

Here Here

+1

Also reduce maternity leave to 3 months, scrap paternity leave (if you want to spend time with your family take it off as holiday like the rest of us), Cut down on the health and safety requirements which are way over the top nowdays, and make it a lot easier to dismiss staff who don't perform.

Okay sounds harsh but if the UK is made attractive to employers in the long run everyone benefits.

:sofa: