Sweet giant Cadbury to axe 700 jobs

Production of some chocolate products will move to Poland in a fresh blow to British manufacturing.

The historic plant at Keynsham near Bristol, which opened in 1919 and now makes Fry's Chocolate Cream, Turkish Delight, Crunchie and Curly Wurly bars, is to close with the loss of 500 jobs, while some production is to be transferred from Bournville in Birmingham to Poland, hitting another 200 posts.

The company said changes were needed to achieve "greater supply chain efficiencies", adding that the Bournville plant will receive an additional £40 million investment to enhance its status as a "centre of excellence" for chocolate production.

Managing director Trevor Bond said: "Cadbury is a great British company which has become an international success. In order to continue to compete in the extremely competitive confectionery industry in the future we need to make the right decisions... Whilst the proposed closure of our Keynsham factory will be difficult for those affected, our ongoing commitment to manufacturing in the UK is absolute. Our significant investment in Bournville is a testament to that."

The Unite union said the land value of the site at Keynsham, known as Somerdale, the old Fry's chocolate factory, would raise millions for Cadbury. "Somerdale is a profitable site, a productive plant and part of Bristol's heritage as well as our manufacturing history," said national officer Brian Revell.

Mr Revell accused the company of acting as if it was a private equity asset stripper and said it was "richly ironic" that such a long-established British company was turning its back on Britain.

Union officials said the announcement was a "devastating blow" for Keynsham, where generations of families had worked.

Bath and North East Somerset Council said the closure of the Keynsham factory had come as a "shock". The council said it was contacting Cadbury for urgent talks about how the closure will be handled.

Cadbury said it hoped to achieve phased redundancies through voluntary means, adding that it was now entering detailed consultation with workers at both sites.