Bishop joins protest over Cadbury

A protest was held at the Cadbury factory, Bournville, last week

A senior churchman has joined in the protest over a plan to close a Cadbury factory, saying it "flies in the face" of the founders' Quaker principles.

The Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Rt Rev Peter Price, said such actions destroyed the fabric of community life.

Hundreds of workers protested in Keynsham, Bristol, on Saturday over a plan to shut Cadbury's Somerdale plant.

The firm also plans to restructure its Bournville plant in Birmingham, leading to a further 200 job losses.

The Bishop said the closure plan destroyed community fabric

An estimated 500 jobs are set to be cut at Keynsham under proposals to move production to Poland.

The bishop said: "Decisions made on the basis of seeing human beings simply as units of production is destructive to the human condition, and flies in the face of the Quaker principles of the founders of the Cadbury Schweppes empire.

"I believe that the destruction of the fabric of community life is inevitable once a significant employer closes a factory such as Somerdale.

"I have expressed my opposition to this closure in the strongest possible terms."

Cadbury and the Unite union are in talks over future plans.