General Chat

If the media are correct and Cadburys have sold to Kraft. Is there anything left in UK that is British ?

Mary xx

Not a lot Mary, it's not really 'our' country anymore is it? Too many companies from outside the UK running things, no wonder life is so difficult for people, no idea if they will have jobs as there will be no loyalty to UK workers, they will be the first to go if things go awry. Apparently Kraft are borrowing heavily to purchase Cadbury's, it doesn't make sense to me but that's why I am not running a big moneymaking business I suppose.

Lizxx

I feel a little sad, but also a little smug.

Around 20 years ago, I was working for Jamesons Chocolates in Tottenham London

We were bought out by Cadbury & immediatly they cut the amount of staff on each machine, making the job harder to do.

Two years later we were told we were all going to be redundant.

Cadburys brought down its staff, for US to train on our own machines. Many of which were going to be dismantled and sent up to Bournville after closure whilst we all signed on.

How we hated those workers, who happily learned the ropes, laughing & joking with one another as if it was a day out for fun

I do feel sorry for those who of no fault of their own may be jobless because of this sale.

But I do feel glad that this big giant, who swallowed the small family firm we worked for & spat it out as was its intention when they bought it, is now facing what our firm and our workers endured, and maybe the smiles are now wiped from many of their faces.

Look what happened in Norwich and elsewhere!

We had an old established chocolate factory that was a big employer in the city,gradually it was sold on and sold on till it ended up being bought by Nestle and then closed down, leaving many people without work. The building was demolished and a second shopping mall built with some housing included.
How I miss the wonderful smell that used to drift across the city, you could tell what they were making sometimes by the distinctive aroma, Caramac was a wonderful smel:

Rowntree's was founded in York in 1862 by Henry Isaac Rowntree, who bought the chocolate company from the Tuke family. In 1869 he was joined by his brother the philanthropist Joseph Rowntree. The original factory was in the centre of the City of York, next to the River Ouse at Tanners Moat, but relocated in 1906 to Haxby Road in the north of the City

The Company merged with rival Mackintosh's in 1969 to become Rowntree Mackintosh. Rowntree was responsible for such British Empire chocolate favourites as Kit Kat, Smarties, Aero, Fruit Pastilles and Black Magic, whilst John Mackintosh and Co. were behind Rolo, Munchies, Caramac and Quality Street.

The company went public in 1987 and was the subject of a takeover battle between Nestlé and Jacobs Suchard in 1988. Nestlé eventually won control with an offer valuing Rowntree at $4.55billion. After the Nestlé takeover the Rowntree chocolate ranges began to use the branding Nestlé-Rowntree, before eventually the Rowntree name was dropped from the packaging altogether, except on Rowntree's Cocoa and the famous 'fruit-pastilles' ] and 'fruit gums' where Rowntree retained its name on the packaging. The Mackintosh branding was dropped from all former Rowntree Mackintosh products, except for Mackintosh's Toffee, which retained the Mackintosh branding.

The Nestle-Rowntree factory in Norwich was closed in 1994 moving Rolo, Yorkie and Easter egg production to York.

In September 2006, it was announced that the manufacture of Smarties was to be moved abroad causing 646 job losses at the York factory.


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I suppose a few of our people in Norwich relocated to York in 1994 but most of them ended up on the dole.

This is the way of the world now, no care or thought for people, only profit!

Lizx

I am very sad to see this today. I hope they keep making it in the UK. The Cadbury's we get here has a different after taste than the chocolate from the UK. As an unabashed chocoholic I have said this for years and my family didn't believe me. One year I had visitors from the UK and they bought some Cadbury's bars with them. We sat and held a taste test and finally everyone agreed with me that the English version was much creamier and didn't have the weird aftertaste that the North American chocolate has.

Stay British I say!

Teresa