LONDON, January 12 /PRNewswire/ —
SPONSOR
Unite, the leading union in the food industry, will today (Tuesday) repeat that a bidding war is bad for Cadbury and its workforce as rumours intensify about the future ownership of the chocolate maker.
The union is to give evidence to the influential Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee of the House of Commons today which is conducting an emergency inquiry into the attempted acquisition of Cadbury.
Unite wants a stronger voice to be given to workers during the takeover process. Cadbury is already subject to a takeover bid from US-based transnational Kraft, which Unite fears could be paid for in job losses and cuts in pay and conditions for the UK and Ireland workforce. Speculation is now growing that Ferrero-Rocher is also in the process of finalising an offer for Cadbury, adding to Unite’s concerns that the interests of the UK and Irish workforce will be lost as a bidding war erupts between companies based in two separate continents.
Unite says that the bids for Cadbury underscore the ease with which otherwise stable UK companies can be subject to hostile acquisition. Speaking ahead of the Select Committee session at which he will give evidence, Unite’s deputy general secretary Jack Dromey, said:
“Takeover policy is shrouded in secrecy and tilted towards profiteering, not the public interest, so much so that the interests of banks and far-off boardrooms come before those of loyal workers and communities. Billion-dollar buy-up packages are put together without any need to guarantee jobs and investment.
“UK and Irish workers, and UK businesses, certainly do not benefit and they will continue to lose out if bidding wars, like the one unfolding for Cadbury, are allowed to determine the future of our companies and country.”
Also set to appear before the Select Committee, Jennie Formby, Unite’s national officer for food and drink, added:
“The speed with which Cadbury has gone from “Not for Sale” to “Under Offer” is startling. Once the speculators started to hover, a great UK and Irish company, a household name with products loved by generations of consumers, was plunged into uncertainty.
“Two months on from Kraft’s initial interest, we are still none the wiser as to Kraft’s plans for Cadbury. Thousands of workers are in the dark about their jobs and it cannot be right that they will remain so until any deal, whether with Kraft or another bidder, is done and dusted.”
Despite continued pressure on the company, Unite has failed to secure further information from Kraft on it intentions towards Cadbury’s workforce. With analysts predicting that Kraft will be seeking to generate up to $1.5 billion in savings, and fears growing that much of these could be made through mass redundancies and restructuring, Unite is pushing for commitments on minimum employment protections, including no compulsory redundancies or site closures, and protection for pensions.
Unite says it also wants Kraft to be much clearer about its plans for all sites in the UK and Ireland, and for details of the business plans for the combined company as a whole.
The union says it will continue to engage in discussion with Kraft and any other company mounting a bid for Cadbury, including Ferrero-Rocher. Last month, Unite launched its “Keep Cadbury Independent” campaign to win security in any takeover for workers in the UK and Ireland.
Notes: Jack Dromey, Unite’s deputy general secretary, and Jennie Formby, Unite’s national officer for food and drink, will give evidence to the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee of the House of Commons tomorrow, Tuesday (12th January). The Committee is sitting in Portcullis House and will begin its evidence session at 10.30am.
Distributed by PR Newswire on behalf of Unite the Union
Share Investor Blog – Stockmarket & Business commentary
Share Investor New Zealand Business News– Get more business news
Discuss this topic @ Share Investor Forum – Register free
Share Investor’s Daily Forex Updates
Recommended Amazon Reading
 |
Security Analysis: Sixth Edition, Foreword by Warren Buffett (Security Analysis Prior Editions) by Benjamin Graham Buy new: $47.25 / Used from: $46.96 Usually ships in 9 to 11 days |
 |
The Four Filters Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger by Bud Labitan Buy new: $33.25 / Used from: $43.89 Usually ships in 24 hours |
