Adrian realised that some aspects of the Quaker business developed over the previous century were now outdated. The collaborative style of management meant decision-making could be slow and he wanted to establish clear lines of accountability and responsibility. Most important of all, he wanted to alter strategy.
The business was vulnerable, with an almost total dependence on cocoa. In it merged with soft drink company, Schweppes. For the traditional Quaker firm born out of the Temperance goals of forbearance, this was not an easy move. Schweppes soft drinks were used with alcohol and the company distributed the alcoholic brand Dubonnet. But, lured by the opportunity to extend geographical reach in a fast-moving world, these historic values were overlooked and the merger went ahead.
But there was an important difference between the two that gave the Swiss firm an even greater advantage. When he retired in , Dominic was the last of the Cadbury family to have worked at the company.
At this point the family and family trust shares had declined to less than 1 percent. Peltz had a plan to bring an easy return to shareholders by separating the confectionary and soft drink divisions.
Cut off on its own, Cadbury confectionary would be an attractive takeover target. The timing was unfortunate. One year later in , Cadbury did indeed receive the unwanted attention of Kraft foods. Your Privacy. For this reason, we inform you that the data collected via the form above is processed electronically for the purpose s specified in this form and will not be used outside this framework.
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View articles. And while there are positive signs the US-giant appears to take the culture of Cadbury seriously, those involved in the negotiations still believe its future hangs in the balance.
Peter Crush reports on a firm in limbo. And, last, but by no means least, government has hardly warmed to her either. Former business secretary Peter Mandelson performed a U-turn to say government should have the power to protect companies deemed to be in the national interest. Meanwhile, a very dim view was taken when, instead of jetting to London herself, Rosenfeld dispatched her corporate affairs director to face the music in front of an all-party Commons business select committee in March that wanted to get to the bottom of things.
You bet it is. So, six months on, and with the errant CEO still not yet gracing the UK workforce with her presence, what are commentators saying about the future of Britain's favourite chocolate maker, and is there an HR lesson in this for us all? Cadbury has also refused to speak to us. Chocqueel-Mangan points out that the majority of the Cadbury board has stayed.
And, as one HR director in the chocolate sector, who wants to remain anonymous, told HR: "While their [Kraft's] big mistake was the handling of the factory closure and they seem to have no sense of how UK media works, I have to say they have managed to keep a lot of Cadbury people.
We have received very few Cadbury CVs. That said, the big three - chairman Roger Carr, chief executive Todd Stitzer and chief financial officer Andrew Bonfield - all resigned hours after the deal was sealed and veiled comments from a steady stream of other big-name departures point to a clutch of disillusioned executives who have no faith in the promise of a common culture. Cadbury's corporate affairs director, Alex Cole who is understood to have refused positions offered to her , said she was leaving in March, with an ambiguous "I wish Kraft all the best in living up to its vision of a business that's more delicious than ever".
He cited family reasons, but year veteran and executive board member of Cadbury India, Cadbury's Asia-Pacific head for chocolates Sanjay Purohi, was far more candid.
The only public appearance Cadbury's HRD, Richard Doyle, has made so far has been at the select committee hearings at the end of March. At the time the press was reporting Cadbury staff were being told their pay would be frozen for three years unless they agreed to opt out of the firm's expensive final-salary pension scheme. Doyle told the baying MPs there would be no further compulsory redundancies among manufacturing employees and no plant closures in the UK for the next two years.
He added "senior management in Kraft had given the [pension] trustees a commitment to supporting pension arrangements, though there may well be ongoing changes to the pension scheme in order to make it affordable. We, Cadbury, have announced some changes and are in the process of consultation.
It all sounds slightly puffy, and the select committee didn't like it either: "We note Kraft's assurances over compulsory redundancies plant closures for the next two years. However, a guarantee for a longer period would have been welcome. Any back-tracking on these commitments will be a serious breach of trust. We recommend the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills monitors Kraft's compliance with these commitments.
If it is serious about them, Kraft will have nothing to fear from such scrutiny. Invited to the select committee proceedings was Chris Bones, Cadbury's former group organisation effectiveness and development director from to , and he tells HR magazine that very little has really been learned.
It was a really bad thing to do particularly because this two-year promise of no job losses is a white elephant. Kraft is playing a PR game. It will have said it met its commitments, but it will have damaged itself as a potential employer.
If it knows it is going to cut people's jobs, why not give them a year and a half's notice period, then they can start planning now for life outside Kraft? Historical precedent does not cast Kraft in a good light. Authorship may be forgotten, but intellectual property seldom is. Not many popular snacks are as legally unencumbered as cheese on toast — and I bet some corporation or other has had a go at enclosing that little tract of common land. I reckon a brand like Cathedral City will have had a meeting about it.
Back off, guys! And careful what you wish for: Hoovers may be everywhere, but most of them are Dysons. But it is bad. And odd. Cadbury has apologised and taken those webpages down, which is quite right, but what was happening in the first place? Why was Cadbury banging on about visiting historical sites?
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