Kraft to manufacture biscuits at UK plant

Kraft Foods has announced it will invest £6 million to make biscuits at one of its UK factories.

The American food giant – which bought Cadbury for £12 billion last year – has announced it will start producing Oreo and BelVita biscuits – the first time they will have been made in the UK, creating 60 jobs in Sheffield’s manufacturing industry

But 40 white-collar roles are to go at the factory’s Trebor Bassett and Maynard section – although Kraft said none of the job losses would be made through compulsory redundancies, reported The Star.

They said they would work with staff to carry out a programme of voluntary redundancies and redeployment over two years from next March.

Kraft chiefs said they will try to move a further 17 warehouse staff at the Beulah Road site into manufacturing positions.

When Kraft bought Cadbury last March they pledged the factory’s 700 workers did not need to fear for their jobs, promising there would be no plant closures and no compulsory redundancies for two years.

The firm said yesterday its commitment remained ‘fully in force’ and was not changed by the announcement.