Hershey Falls After Union Talks With Kraft

LONDON (TheStreet) -- As Hershey(HSY Quote) continues to seek political capital for its pursuit of Cadbury(CBY Quote), union representatives there have already moved forward in talks with Kraft Foods(KFT Quote).

Representatives at Unite, Cadbury's union, said talks with Kraft about their jobs, pensions and working conditions were constructive. The union is Britain's largest, consisting of 2 million members.

But they were still left with doubts about their future should a Kraft takeover be successful. The American food giant failed to provide any firm assurances, they said on Wednesday.

Most Popular GE Looks to Break From Financials

Most Commented Cramer Responds to Trade Tax Critics

"[Kraft] couldn't give us the guarantees we were seeking today," said Jenny Formby, Unite's national officer for the food sector.

Offering some reassurances at the meeting, Kraft reiterated its offer to keep the British confectioner's Somerdale factory in the central English city of Bristol open. Previously, Cadbury itself had decided to transfer chocolate production from the Somerdale plant to Poland, which would have cost 500 jobs.

But "until they can put some meat on the bones of their plans, it is too early for us to be happy that jobs will be safe," Formby said.

The union said it will continue talking to Kraft and expects to hold discussions with the other potential bidders.