CALLS are being made for factory owners to outline future plans.


Cadbury trademark and products now fall under Mondelez International, after Kraft Foods split into two separate companies.
 

The business is now responsible for the Chirk Cadbury factory, which produces cocoa and hot chocolate products and employs about 150 staff.


Clwyd South AM Ken Skates is now calling for Mondelez International to show a long-term commitment to the Chirk site.
 

He said: “The Cadbury factory in Chirk is a vital source of employment for people in the town and must be protected.
“The original takeover by Kraft in 2010 was the source of inevitable anxiety for everyone who worked at Cadbury and together with even more structural change now, there is again uncertainty about what this might mean for plants such as the one in Chirk.”
 

Mr Skates said there had been developments including national job cuts at Cadbury plants and the closure of the plant at Somerdale near Bristol.
“Therefore, I think it is only fair the new company set out its long-term plans for the brand, including the future of the Chirk factory,” he added.
“I want to see the Welsh Government work with Cadbury so that the plant in Chirk is seen as an attractive place to invest.
“In return I’d like to see a major, long-term commitment by the company to protect and invest further in the site.”
 

More than 100 of Kraft’s snack brands, including Cadbury, Milka, Toblerone and Oreo, were placed under the Mondelez International banner last month.
 

Tony Bilsborough, spokesman for Cadbury, said it is not a case of new owners having taken over and maintained Chirk would be unaffected by the move.
He said: “This makes no difference to the Chirk plant itself. There will be no change in how things are at Chirk at all.”