MPs accuse Kraft over Cadbury deal

MPs are expected to criticise Kraft's takeover of Cadbury
12 April 2012

Food giant Kraft is expected to be heavily criticised by a committee of MPs over the way the firm handled its controversial takeover of Cadbury.

The Business Select Committee will publish a report after hearing evidence from the firm and union leaders who angrily attacked the pledges given by Kraft to keep open the Somerdale factory near Bristol.

The US company changed its mind about keeping the plant open after the merger went through, which will lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs.

The MPs are expected to say that Kraft acted irresponsibly and unwisely in making its original statement that it believed it could keep the Somerdale factory open.

The Press Association understands that the report is set to accuse Kraft of leaving itself open to the charge that it was either incompetent in its approach to the Somerdale factory or that it used a "cynical ploy" to improve its public image during the takeover process.

The MPs are believed to have concluded that Kraft's reputation has been damaged in the United Kingdom and that its relationship with Cadbury has been affected.

It is understood that the MPs will tell Kraft it will have to invest significant time and effort in restoring its reputation and regaining the trust of the public, its workers in this country and the Government.

Kraft executives admitted to the committee last month that the firm's reputation had been hit and pledged to work to restore good relations.

The decision to press ahead with the closure of the Somerdale factory, and transfer work to Poland, will lead to the loss of 400 jobs.

No-one who gave evidence to the committee would comment ahead of the report's publication.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in