22 Jun 2017

Own the Factory campaign withdrawing Cadbury offer

From Morning Report, 7:28 am on 22 June 2017

A Dunedin group hoping to continue the production of iconic confectionery like Jaffas, Pineapple Lumps and Buzz Bars has given up on its plans.

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Photo: Cadbury / Pascall

The 'Own the Factory' campaign had raised almost $6 million towards keeping some production lines in the city's Cadbury factory open.

Dunedin Councillor Jim O'Malley, who was behind the campaign, said it couldn't keep up with Modelez's timeline.

"They [Mondelez] are pretty much unwilling to move any of their timelines so it's [an] immovable force really.

"We still want to save the technology and the industrial capacity in the city and the most important component of that is the workers," he said.

The group would now focus on establishing a chocolate company from scratch and would try to employ current Cadbury factory workers, he said.