Cadbury job losses: Over 200 redundancies in Dublin and Kerry

Chocolate fans are being urged to give it up to raise charity funds

Independent.ie reporters

A restructuring of Cadbury's Irish operations will result in 160 job losses in Cork and Kerry and the closure of a chewing gum ingredients firm in Tallaght, it owner Mondelez said today.

The closure of the Tallaght plant will result in 45 full time job losses and 17 contract positions.

Under the proposals, wafer products will no longer be produced in Ireland, including TimeOut and Pink Snack.  The Pink Snack is only sold in the Irish market and is being discontinued while the production of TimeOut is currently under review.

The company said the move is designed to make its production business in Ireland is sustainable and stronger for the future.

"The proposals include a €11.7m investment in new chocolate making technology to enable Coolock to concentrate production on core chocolate brands; Cadbury Dairy Milk 8-square, Flake, Twirl and Boost, for consumption in Ireland and the export market.

"From the end of 2015 the Coolock plant will no longer produce wafer brands Time Out and Pink Snack, sales of which have been in decline for a number of years.

"These proposals, and a wider efficiency programme in both Coolock and Rathmore, would result in the loss of approximately 160 roles across both sites."

Commenting, Justin Cook, Managing Director of Mondelez Ireland said: "We very much regret that these proposed changes would require role reductions. We are committed to working fairly and respectfully with employees and their representatives through the consultation processes that will now commence.

“Our proposals to restructure our chocolate business aim to build a stronger business in Ireland. Cadbury is the only large scale chocolate brand manufactured in Ireland.  We are proud to support Irish farmers by buying approximately 70 million litres of milk every year and of our heritage as the home of Ireland’s best-selling chocolate bar, the Cadbury Dairy Milk 8-square, as well as Flake, Twirl and Boost.”

Staff were briefed today.