Wednesday 10 February 2010

False hope in Keynsham

KEYNSHAM - Last night's confirmation by Kraft that they would not be keeping the old Fry factory in Keynsham open is a body blow to our small town. Cadbury had already planned to move the jobs to Poland, and the work on shifting production was well-advanced. In a global marketplace, these changes will happen both to Britain's cost and benefit. So the promises being made to campaigners in advance of the Cadbury takeover that Kraft would keep the Somerdale plant open seemed surprising. But by making them, they offered hope at a time when plans for the future use of the extensive site were already well aired by the local council. Yet the seeming inevitability of the plant's closure cannot excuse Kraft's cynical handling of the issue. They gave workers and community campaigners false hope. And that is unforgivable.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Devastating for the workers of Keynsham. As an aside Conor I enjoy reading your blog. I'm an Irish Labour Party Activist and have some quite fond memories of Keynsham as my grandparents used to have friends there - sadly they are now dead. However in particular I have fond memories of receiving sweets from the Frys factory as they had worked in Frys some years ago. Fraternal greetings from Bray Co Wicklow.