Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has called out Mondelez for refusing to take up the city council's offer to discuss options for keeping the Cadbury factory open.
Cadbury workers are having trouble securing bank loans and house tenancies because of the threat over their jobs, making their lives "so difficult", their union says.
The takeover of Cadbury is leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of chocolate fans and workers from the United Kingdom to Dunedin. Chris Morris reports.
Concerns about the viability of the Cadbury plant were raised with him during visits to the factory, Dunedin National list MP Michael Woodhouse has confirmed.
A meeting between Dunedin's leaders and Mondelez International over the Cadbury factory was labelled a ''farce'' by a union representative and ''constructive'' by Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull.
There was outrage and disbelief yesterday in response to Mondelez International's plan to apply for ratepayer cash to hold this year's Cadbury Chocolate Carnival.
MPs, senior officials, city leaders and social sector representatives are meeting Mondelez officials this afternoon at the Dunedin City Council to discuss the planned Cadbury closure.
Mondelez International will line up for more ratepayer cash for the Cadbury Chocolate Carnival, despite its plan to close the Dunedin factory and put 362 people out of work.
Manufacturing still has a future in Dunedin, despite the corporate "greed'' behind plans to close the Cadbury chocolate factory, Labour leader Andrew Little says.
Cadbury's closure will ripple through the Dunedin economy, costing support companies their contracts and possibly even their staff, the Otago Chamber of Commerce says.
There is no chance of the Cadbury factory being saved from closure after owner Mondelez made its decision, long-time confectionery maker Nat Craig says.