I'm going to boycott Kraft foods ...

[muminlondon]

.. for taking over Cadburys.

A disgusting cheesey-vegemite-chocolate corporate mix. a finger of fudge to you greedy hedgefunds.

So where do I get my UK/EU Fairtrade/Quaker-based chocolate now?

At the risk of being in opposition to everyone on this thread so far, can I just point out a few things about this deal:

Kraft currently have a very small confectionery business - so buying Cadbury expands their portfolio. Most M&A deals with big job losses are in that situation because there is a big cross over in what their current business does and what the new acquisition does (eg Nestle and Rowntree) So logically, I would not assume there will be massive job losses in the actual manufacturing area of the business. There probably will be losses in management/Coporate/Head Office areas - so is everyone worried about the poor old CFOs/Marketing Directors etc etc, where there are duplicate roles in both organisations?

Re recipies/chocolate tastes - Cadbury already makes different tasting chocolate for different markets...based on what the local market preference is. IIRC, there are 2 production lines for Creme Eggs - UK and rest of world, because the taste for sweetness differs. And yes, they are significant in the Emerging Market countries, including India - which has yet another taste profile. I don't know why Kraft would radically change this, as it would affect sales. And brand perception...thereby defeating the purpose of buying a successful, brand-led company, no?

Yes, people will make money out of this deal. And if anyone here has a pension, there's a fair chance that your pension pot could be positively impacted by the deal as well...so I don't think it's as straightforward as Nasty Hedgefunders and Directors Making a Packet at Everyone Else's Expense. They are running a business, and it's part of their fiduciary duty to provide returns to shareholders, and ensure the successful implementation of business decisions.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should point out that I used to work for Cadbury, and am a (very small) shareholder. I am not overjoyed that a UK company has been taken over by a US conglomerate - but there are worse things that could happen....eg Hershey could be taking them over!

May have to stockpile Dairy Milk and chocolate buttons - my two favourite indulgences in life. Wonder how long the sell-by dates are.

Nick Clegg raised it in PMQ (in the context of bailed-out bank lending Kraft the dosh, to add insult to injury)....clearly he's after the MN vote

I thought Hershey's (ugh) was actually a competitor of Kraft though?

This takeover is crap news

As a major contributer to Cadbury's yearly profits though, I'm surprised they haven't asked my opinion

I would love to boycott Cadbury but I have zero willpower and I only eat cadbury's chocolate

I could happily boycott Kraft though, not a fan of cheese that comes ready sliced, myself...

Evil, part of the problem is that Kraft have previous form after taking over Terry's. Terry's of York no longer sadly.

They may have the sense to leave Cadbury's pretty much alone and import Flakes into the US but its hardly suprising they are mistrusted.

Whoever took over Green and Black's insist it hasn't been changed-it sooooo has. I have been buying that since it first came on the market and can definitely detect a difference. I know others who do to.

So sadly not really trusting the "it'll stay the same" line they're pushing out.

Green and Blacks is also owned by Cadbury. Are Kraft going to keep the Fairtrade and organic aspect of that?

very sad indeed.

EvilHR lady, but doesn't it kind of suck a little bit that they are purely concerned about their shareholders and not at all about their workers? Goes against the whole history of Cadbury's. And frankly if that's business, it stinks. A decent business would look after its workforce too.

from that grauniad article

'The chief executive of Cadbury stands to pocket cash and shares worth £12m from the company's £11.9bn sale to the American food giant Kraft in a deal that also hands fees of at least £250m to legions of City advisers.

The scale of the payments for Todd Stitzer contrasts sharply with the uncertainty faced by thousands of Cadbury factory workers, after the group's chairman Roger Carr admitted he had put shareholders first and job losses were inevitable.'

well Roger Carr, for example, is a twat

'The chief executive of Cadbury stands to pocket cash and shares worth £12m

I'll support the takeover if he donates that to Haiti.

Grimma - true, but Cadbury is a much bigger business than Terry's, and whilst I am not suggesting that nothing will change, it's an altogether different proposition for Kraft.

Cat - but doesn't it kind of suck a little bit that they are purely concerned about their shareholders and not at all about their workers? Goes against the whole history of Cadbury's. And frankly if that's business, it stinks. A decent business would look after its workforce too.

Erm, in an ideal world, yes...but what commercial organisation these days takes the view that shareholders & workforce are equally as important and they will only take decisions that work equally well for both parties? Is such a position even possible?

is such a position even possible? i dunno
but there seems to be a lot of short-termism these days, with investors out for what they can get quick quick quick rather than staying for the long haul, so perfectly good companies get bought and sold and ultimately trashed so a few people can make a lot of money in a hurry

that just seems a bit wrong to me from any point of view, moral or business

have alot of admiration for the John lewis model of partnerhip actually

i am a business ignormamus though really...

I wish John Lewis would just take over the whole government of the country. Make us all shareholders in UK.com.

I certainly wish they'd just take over my house and make it look like one of their shops.

TwoIfBySea, US no good at Bread, Chocolate, Cheese? I beg to differ.

sourdough, Ghirardelli, Cabot Cheddar
(and numerous examples not imported to the UK, personally I prefer swiss chocolate and gruyere)

Unfortunately Kraft foodstuff is so processed ... can they really call it food? I actually haven't bought a Kraft product since my childhood - horrible stuff.

The interesting thing about Cadbury's is most of it is not in the UK (45000 employees ... 6000 in UK). I wonder how much of that is in nations with smaller wages?

I went to the Bourneville Cadbury tour last year. I was disappointed as there was little 'factory' on the tour and lots of shows. I like a good factory tour. Maybe Kraft will improve it?

DH used to work on the Ketnsham site,albeit employed by a contractor.

he is against the deal mainly becuase of the UK ownership/ RBS input /pe3rsonalexperience of what happens to pensions when the American rules take over (parents worked for federal mogul- bye bye pension!).

OTOH lots ofepople he knows arepro the deal as they feel they have gone from definite redundancy to possible redundancy,which is a step in the right direction even if not enough to hang your hat on.

it'sdifficult, I personally amfirmly with my aprents after watching what happened to them in not trusting buig American takeovers, but can totally understand why the Keynsham workers whoa re onside feel that way.

.

Could be perfect for my diet.
If Kraft mess around with the Dairy Milk / Twirl recipe then I will soon be a svelte size 10!
American idea of chocolate is vom!

MDS YY to opcurtaulds

My town had a Courtaulds, Bordens and Federal Mogul: Dad had a pension with two of them.
They all met pretty much the same fate and dad'spretty much broke now.

I hope I am proven wrong but I simply don't have any trust instinctively in American takeovers.

Might stockpile Cadburys chocolate in case of recipe change

Kraft make cheese that comes in an aerosol can

Yuck

So wrong

Surely Kraft should be done under the trades description act. How can something coming out of an aerosol can possibly be described as cheese?

When I lived in America (only for a year) they actually called processed cheese American Cheese. I remember thinking "what kind of country would want that pile of shit named after it?"