An update on Cadbury

Posted Jun 19th 2007 5:00PM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Deals, Employees

Here is proof that if you mention enough possible outcomes, some of them will come true and you will look like a genius. Okay, maybe not, but anyway, Cadbury Schweppes plc (NYSE: CSG) released its Confectionery Strategy press release. Here are the two most important details found in it:

Conveniently buried in the release, which quickly became the headline, was the 15% job reduction -- or about 7,500 layoffs. The company added that it would look to close 15% of its confectionery factories by 2011 as part of an austerity plan. These steep cuts are expected to save the company up to an estimated GBP300M.
Also of note, after receiving "expressions of interest," the company said it would most likely sell its American business unit rather than demerge it.

The news dropped the stock about half a percent today to 55.75 in midday trading, which I find kind of surprising since both items are positive, at least for the company's costs. This may just be a case where the action -- while drastic -- was still not enough to satisfy investors, who possibly expected a more earthshaking announcement.

Tags: cadbury, cadbury schweppes, CadburySchweppes, csg, job cuts, JobCuts, layoff, reduction