Mondelez Moves Massive Chocolate Production to Birmingham
Get ready, chocoholics! Mondelez is shifting the production of 12,000 tonnes of chocolate – that’s a staggering 125 million bars – from Germany and other European sites straight to Birmingham starting next year.
Dairy Milk Dominates Birmingham
The move means most of the iconic Dairy Milk bars will soon be made in Birmingham, adding to the 35,000 tonnes already produced there in 2020.
Five years ago, Bournville’s costs were three times higher than European factories. But Mondelez smashed that challenge with a £15 million investment in new production lines, boosting the UK plant’s capacity by 30%.
Strong Vote of Confidence in UK Workforce
Louise Stigant, Mondelez’s UK head, said: “At a time when manufacturing in the UK is facing significant challenges, it has never been more important to secure our business’s long-term competitiveness and sustainability.”
She added, “This investment will continue to modernise our Bournville manufacturing processes and ensure we meet the demand for a highly efficient and robust supply infrastructure for our iconic Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets.”
Some Dairy Milk variants like the Big Taste range will stick to Europe for technical and capacity reasons, but the bulk is coming home.
Unite union’s Joe Clarke hailed the move as a “vote of confidence in the UK workforce.” He praised the trade union reps and business for negotiating the deal even amid Covid restrictions.
