What happened when Kraft took over Terry's of York
The man who negotiated with Kraft during the controversial closure of York’s famous Terry’s chocolate factory today warned Cadbury workers to defend Bournville against “death by stealth”.
John Kirk, GMB union’s regional organiser for Yorkshire, also told Cadbury to take the words of Kraft with “a pinch of salt”.
He spoke out five years after Kraft closed the doors on the iconic factory, which still sits above the city of York as an empty shell.
Kraft bought the chocolate maker in 1993 and moved production to eastern Europe in 2005.
Mr Kirk said: “The closure of the Terry’s plant was death by stealth and I would urge Cadbury workers to take the words of Kraft with a pinch of salt. I don’t like saying it, but I can say it with the benefit of hindsight.
“Cadbury needs to defend the core brands. At Terry’s, nearly 40 per cent of the production just disappeared over time. It meant that the factory was not viable with the remaining products.
“York was left with just the chocolate orange and the assortments.
“We were being told privately by Kraft that they were looking for a more adaptable site in York. We worked with the local council and turned over every stone and looked at every option.
“It transpired that they were always planning to move production to the Eastern Bloc.
“I was in the factory yesterday and it is just an empty shell. It is quite eerie in there. Obviously Kraft has not taken over Cadbury to keep running it as it is. There will be big changes and it’s the staff that suffer initially.”
Hugh Bayley, Labour MP for York, was equally scathing of the American food giant’s treatment of the Terry’s brand.
He said: “The stakes for Cadbury are really very high and if I was an MP in Birmingham I would want to know in great detail what Kraft’s intentions arevand what their commitments are going
to be.
“Here in York we have had two differentvexperiences of takeovers with two prestigious confectionary brands. The wayvthat Nestle has dealt with Rowntree is very different to the way that Kraft dealt with Terry’s. Nestle has maintained business in York and has invested millions of pounds.
“Kraft, on the other hand, just wanted the Terry’s brand. They had little commitment to the company, its history or to York and the workforce. I talked to them seriously about finding an alternative site, but frankly, they were not interested. If they treat Cadbury in the same way it will be extremely bad news.
"The Government and the local authorities in Birmingham and the West Midlands need to build up the pressure and they need to tease out the intentions of Kraft as soon as possible.”
Today the Terry’s factory is a sad site with padlocked gated entrances, weeds growing through the cracks of the concrete and graffiti covered walls.
The only thing that still works inside is the clock on the tower.
The sprawling factory is just a shell. It’s old one-storey offices and boardroom are leased by a law firm, but the rest is empty and patrolled by security guards.
The feeling of anger and the sense of betrayal is also still clear when you speak to the people of York. Many still refuse to buy Terry’s products, nearly five years after Kraft shipped all of its production to Eastern Europe.
Bob Bennett used to deliver cocoa beans to the factory during his 22 years as a truck driver and has lived a few miles from the factory since 1960.
