Kraft are closing Cadbury’s Bristol factory :(
2010 February 9
yankeebean
Mr. Nice Guy just told me that Kraft are closing the Cadbury plant near Bristol – poutpoutpout. You can read a full article about it on the BBC website – ‘Cadbury’s Bristol plant to close by 2011‘.
The article makes it perfectly clear that the plant was due for closure anyway, but it still sucks. That’s 400 UK jobs gone like dust in the wind… AND less UK-made chocolate. A double-whammy if ever there was one.
Soon our lovely Cadbury goodness will come from Poland – ahh, the *sweet* taste of a sagging UK ecomony and an increased carbon footprint. Mmmmmmmm…
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7 Responses
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Hmmm, jobs are a privilege, not a right!
Dude, I’m self-employed, talk about preaching to the choir…
Regardless of one’s opinion on having a job (a right vs. a privilege), the fact that Kraft is closing down a Cadbury’s plant in the UK (which was the original point of Yankeebean’s post anyway) is not good news, and does not bode well for the image of Kraft, an American company.
Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that these “big bad American corporations that wreak chaos to the UK economy” doesn’t then translate into a kind of accusatory stance of finger pointing towards American expats that live here (like myself!!).
Regardless though, I will happily engorge myself with more of them chocolate Cadbury’s finger rolls in protest. Gawd, they are fine.
I want chocolate…
Apologies if I sniped earlier – I’m sick and cranky. You may play your violin for me now
It’s not great from the PR point of view is it? As you said in a previous post, a lot of Brits feel protective about Cadbury’s as a long-standing institution, and part of childhood memories etc. So in closing a factory within 5 minutes of buying the company, Kraft is just confirming those people’s worst fears and preconceptions. I guess they just don’t care (another worst fear and preconception).
I had a little bit of an insight into the situation yesterday in a lecture at my business school. I’m not sure if it is a factor of Kraft “not caring” about Bristol, but apparently there have been some deep issues with that plan in terms of old equipment. Afterall, Kraft originally said it would revisit Cadbury’s decision to close down the plant — and from a business perspective, it would have made a lot of PR-sense to keep it open if it were at all possible. Apparently the options were to build an entirely new plan in Bristol versus Poland. I’m not saying it is a good thing — it is super sad and bad for the UK economy. I really think it was a business decision that was probably made after a lot of consideration. I’m very sad for the employees of the plant as well as those who were laid-off from Glaxo-Smith-Kline this week.
In an effort of solidarity, since the Bristol factory makes Crunchies, I’m going to eat all the Crunchies I can before they become Crunch-kies. (Ok — groan at the bad joke!)
they should have seen this coming, it was obvious to us at the other side of the pond that this would happen, and I hate to be a doom and gloomer here, but this will not be the last of the closures.
If Poland employs cheap labour, they will use that cheap labour, just like the Americans use the Mexicans……..
Gill in Canada – who is not at all happen about the Americans taking over a British institution!!