Cadbury Schweppes said today that it will not close its historic Bournville factory in the West Midlands as part of its cost cutting drive.
The confectionary-to-soft drinks company yesterday announced the closure of 11 factories around the world and the loss of 7,800 jobs.
Earlier this month the company announced a decision to relocate its headquarters from London’s Mayfair to Macquarie Goodman’s Uxbridge Business Park in west London.
Cadbury will move into the 83,250 sq ft 3 Uxbridge Business Park leaving its head office at 25 Berkeley Square after 15 years.
The announcement of a four-year closure programme comes after three years of cost-cutting which has still left the business struggling to keep pace with multinational rivals.
The company is also pursuing a sale of its US soft drinks arm which , when completed by the end of the year, will result in the company being renamed Cadbury.
The disposal is expected to raise up to £8bn.
Between £1.5bn and £2bn is likely to be used to reduce debt and the rest returned to shareholders.
