Cadbury closure leaves bitter taste

Reverberations will be felt throughout our region from the loss of an icon that has been part of Dunedin’s identity for more than 80 years.

As Cadbury owner Mondelez International announced the closure of the factory in Dunedin last Thursday, with the loss of more than 360 jobs, the shockwave spread beyond the workers and their families, to schools and the hundreds of suppliers that have kept the chocolate factory ticking for so long.

The immediate impact is stark. About 60 per cent of the workforce is over 45, which makes retraining and finding comparably paid work tough. Many have worked at Cadbury for more than 20 years. Closures like this impact on entire communities, and the flow-on effects will continue to resonate.

The region is already rallying around the workers, with job opportunities beginning to be offered and Otago mayors pledging to offer support.

Comments from the finance minister and prime minister have only reinforced how much our region is left to its own devices. More investment and new job opportunities are what Dunedin, Invercargill and our surrounding region needs, not just platitudes and the dole.

Cadbury’s imminent demise follows a trend of diminishing manufacturing and services. For the past few years we have watched companies and banks closing their local factories and branches.

In September last year, Westpac announced the closure of 19 branches, including rural Otago Southland branches in Ranfurly, the town’s last bank branch, and Te Anau. In the same month ANZ announced the closure of its Milton branch, leaving another rural town with no banking branch.

Silver Fern Farms confirmed in October, a Southland plant in Mossburn would close, and earlier this month Credit Union South proposed that its Timaru, Oamaru and Gore branches were to close, and its Dunedin branch faced job cuts.

All of this in the past six months.

There is a case to be made that our regions are being left behind. There should be no doubt that our economy is changing, but we must make sure whole communities are not left out in the cold. Large employment changes have the potential to impact schools, immigration to the region and even house prices. Effective regional development policy has never been more important.

Labour’s 2016 Future of Work commission looked at how and why our economy and job market is changing, and what we can do to support people through these changes.

Education and retraining are among the most important drivers of adaptability in the workforce, and the Future of Work commission found that the government has a key role to play in retraining.

I share the pain and anger of the community, and I stand with the Cadbury workers.

Along with my Dunedin North colleague David Clark, I encourage anyone affected by the closure to reach out to their local union and to our offices. I share the pain and anger of the local community, and I stand with the Cadbury workers.

Clare Curran is MP for Dunedin South