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More than 200 Cadbury workers are being made redundant as part of a deal the company says will secure chocolate production at Bournville for the next 25 years.

Unite union has hailed a historic deal which ensures a £75 million programme of investment at Bournville with new production lines, and rules out compulsory job losses.

It will see 205 long-serving members of staff depart the chocolate giant – but they will leave with average payoffs of more than £100,000 each.

Packages have been agreed with the staff for between four and six weeks salary for every year of service.

Workers have been briefed on the agreement this week following long-running talks centred on a controversial document from the American owners entitled High Performing Bournville.

The Post revealed last October the document had warned that workers had to demonstrate 'new behaviours' and embrace new working practices or risk seeing their jobs moved overseas.

Unite regional organiser Joe Clarke said: "This has given assurances and security for the plant for the next 25 years.

"We have signed up to an agreement between unions and management to the effect that there will be 205 people who have volunteered for redundancy leaving over the next two years. It is a total of 100 this year and 100 next year.

"There are a lot of long-serving people in their mid to late 50s, and most enhanced redundancy terms packages will be in excess of £100,000.

"The agreement in place is that they will get between four and six weeks for every year of service.

"Anybody else who wants to stay will be found suitable alternative employment. It will bring down the headcount to around 600 on the manufacturing base. A briefing process has been held with the workforce this week.

"The company has agreed to no compulsory redundancies, nobody will be forced out of the door. From our point of view, this is something we have been banging the drumfor for a couple of years."

Mr Clarke said workers who were staying would be required to take on new skills.

"The £75 million investment project will run to December 31 2016. Six lines are going and four new lines are replacing them," he said.

"We have negotiated a new pay rate as well as there will be additional skills required with the new plant. Everybody will be expected to take on new skills for different ways of working.

"Everybody will be taken on a training programme and expected to work to acquire new skills. Three new grades are being introduced and the first grade pay increase is two per cent, we have not negotiated the second and third increases yet, that will be at a later date.

"We have now briefed our members and it has gone down very well. The investment programme lasts until December 31, 2016. We are satisfied that anybody who wants to go can go and anybody who wants to stay can stay."

The American parent group unveiled a £75 million programme of investment for Bournville in January 2014 which will see old production lines replaced with new state-of-the-art equipment. But Mondelez International had warned that the cash outlay was dependent on a successful conclusion to talks with unions.

In April last year then Mondelez boss Maurizio Brusadelli told the Post that Bournville was lagging behind its European counterparts with ageing infrastructure and manufacturing costs double that of sister plants.

Neil Chapman, manufacturing director chocolate UK for Mondelez International, said at the time: "Our costs on the ground down here are twice as much as others in our sister factories in Europe.

"That is manufacturing costs, compared to other sister plants in Europe, such as Germany."

The signing of the agreement comes almost exactly five years on from the controversial Kraft hostile takeover of Cadbury – later renamed Mondelez International – completed in February 2010.

The High Performing Bournville document told workers they had to ‘fundamentally' change their behaviour – or apply for voluntary redundancy.

The document warned: "If we don't change we will be unable to grow and develop our workforce to succeed to be the very best and therefore fail to become supplier of choice. In order to move to a High Performing Bournville, we need everyone at all levels to demonstrate a new set of behaviours."

Mondelez International said in a statement: "We are pleased that the consultation with colleagues and their representatives is progressing in a positive and constructive manner.

"From the outset, we have been clear that, to secure the £75 million investment and therefore the next generation of manufacturing here, Bournville will need to become cost competitive.

"During consultation, we agreed this would mean fewer people working in Bournville in the future than there are today.

"Our preference is always to look for voluntary redundancies to achieve any reductions. Through conversations with our workforce, a number of employees have asked for voluntary redundancy, indicating that we should be able to achieve the necessary reductions through a voluntary approach."

Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC), said: "Mondelez have dealt with this in a sensible way, securing the future of the plant, resulting in a positive reaction from staff.

"This does demonstrate how, with the right approach, the required results can be achieved without pain. Very generous redundancy terms have been announced for the 200 volunteers, with payments averaging £100,000 depending on length of service.

"Reports suggest a positive reaction from staff who can now look forward to production at the plant for at least the next 25 years."