Kraft is to invest £50 million in Cadbury's manufacturing operations – but new hi-tech working will see 200 jobs lost across the country.
The jobs will go across the UK over a two-year period from March 2012 and follow the expiry of a two-year moratorium on manufacturing job losses agreed by Kraft following its £11.7 billion takeover in February 2010.
Kraft said in a statement: “The proposals are designed to keep Bournville, home of iconic Cadbury chocolate, at the heart of the British chocolate industry.
“They will also bring biscuit-making, including the famous Oreo cookie, to Kraft in the UK for the first time as part of a series of major UK investments.
“The £44 million investment in chocolate manufacturing, of which £3.4 million was announced in early 2011, will benefit Bournville and plants at Chirk, and Marlbrook.
“Kraft Foods expects approximately 200 roles in chocolate manufacturing to be affected by changes resulting from the investment programme. In 2012 and 2013, the company will work closely with employees and their representatives to minimise the impact through redeployment and a managed voluntary redundancy scheme.”
Neil Chapman, manufacturing director, UK Chocolate, said: “Kraft Foods has already designated Bournville its R&D Centre of Excellence for chocolate; this announcement signals Kraft Foods’ plans for growth across the manufacturing network.”
The news came as it was unveiled 200 manufacturing jobs are to go with the closure of a long-established Birmingham fasteners factory.
Tucker Fasteners, of Walsall Road, Perry Barr, has been earmarked for shutdown with production switched to a site in Germany.
