A protest sign is pictured outside the head office of Cadbury in Birmingham as the takeover was confirmed Cadbury, one of Britain's best-loved businesses, ended 186 years of history yesterday as it became the latest victim of a foreign takeover.
After a bitter five-month battle, the company agreed to an £11.7billion offer from the American giant Kraft Foods.
Last night unions raised fears of a bloodbath among Cadbury's 5,700 workers in the UK and Ireland, although Kraft, which makes Dairylea processed cheese, insists this will not happen.
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British protester Ray Egan, dressed as John Bull, protests against the sale of Cadbury outside the company's headquarters in BirminghamIt is a sad day for the maker of Dairy Milk, Creme Eggs and Flake, which began with strong Quaker principles, looked after its workers and their families and which was run until the 1990s by its founding family.
Felicity Loudon, the great-great granddaughter of founder John Cadbury, yesterday described the deal as 'awful'.
She said: 'We can't sell out to a plastic cheese company. That would be a horror story.'
It was John Cadbury who opened a tea and coffee shop in 1824, before branching out into hot cocoa.
A worker on the production line at the Bournville factory, Birmingham. Unions fear the takeover will mean British jobs will be lost
Workers survey eggs during the making of Cadbury chocolate in the Bourneville factory in the early 1900s
The 1920s... when chocolate was 'good for you'When his sons built the firm's Bournville factory near Birmingham, they also built the model homes for workers which are still being lived in today.
Some of that workforce now faces the bleak prospect of unemployment.
Kraft has promised to 'fully safeguard' the existing contractual employment rights of Cadbury's 45,000 global workforce, including their pension rights.
But Cadbury chairman Roger Carr, who had been opposed to the deal before caving in on Monday, admitted job losses are an 'inevitability.'
Yesterday the Prime Minister insisted that workers will be protected.
He said: 'We are determined that, at a time when people are worried about their jobs, that jobs in Cadbury can be secure.'
Kraft has been stalking the firm since last September but had been rejected until it increased its offer to 840p a share, made up of 500p in cash and newly issued Kraft shares.
Chief executive Todd Stitzer stands to make around £7million in the deal.
The offer, which is being unanimously recommended by its directors, is almost certain to be accepted unless a last-minute rival bid comes forward.
Yesterday unions said the takeover marks 'a very sad day for UK manufacturing'
Jennie Formby of Unite said: 'Whatever good intentions Kraft may have towards Cadbury's workforce, the sad truth is there will be an irresistible imperative to pay down their debt. This raises real fears for jobs and investment in this country.' She said they are trying to arrange 'urgent meetings' with the senior management of both firms to seek guarantees over jobs and the eight sites in the UK.
Kraft took over Terry's, maker of the eponymous chocolate orange, in 1993 and closed down the factory in York in 2005.
The chocolate orange is now made in Poland.
Yesterday Kraft chairman Irene Rosenfeld insisted: 'We have great respect for Cadbury's brands, heritage and people. We believe they will thrive as part of Kraft.'
source: dailymail