Cadbury's

Tullis Russell and Inveresk - the difference in ownership.

Yesterday, I met with Eileen Jarrett who chairs the Employee Ownership Board at Tullis Russell Papermakers based in Fife, Scotland.  She was telling me that despite the challenges currently facing the paper industry, Tullis Russell continues to hold its own. 
 

Why employee owned businesses are better equipped to cope with recession

I attended a very interesting and stimulating event today which was arranged jointly by the Employee Ownership Association and John Lewis Partnership.  The line up of speakers was impressive - Will Davies (Reinventing the Firm), Richard Wilkinson (Spirit Level)  , Philip Blond (Respublica), Charlie Mayfield (Chairman John Lewis) Prof Joseph Lampel (CASS business school) and John Kay (Financial Times).  The purpose of the event was the launch of a new report by CASS Business School which examined the growth of employee owned firms.  More of that later when I get a chance to digest the report an

People - the best assets?

Tragic announcements yesterday about the massive job losses from Astrazeneca and Babcock, together with the anticipated losses following the Cadbury takeover really call into question how much we value labour.

Sad news - was there no alternative ending for Cadbury?

I wrote an earlier blog post congratulating Cadbury on shrugging off the approach from Kraft and preserving their independence.  How sad then to read in today's Times that everything does indeed have a price and that independence has been bought.

It doesn't seem right that the future of this solid British company was in the hands of external shareholders who were eventually seduced when the money was right for them

Employee Ownership is growing!

Philip Baxendale is one of life's magnanimous and visionary men.  As the great grandson of Richard Baxendale, he became General Manager of the Baxi Heating Company at the age of 30.  He grew the company to become a household name, instilling progressive, inclusive management practices which were way ahead of time.

Preserving business independence

I can't be the only one to breathe a sigh of relief at the news that Cadbury's, that iconic British brand, has shaken off a takeover bid from the US giant, Kraft.  Talk of "savings in marketing, distribution and product development" will derive from economies of scale, but what that really means is loss of employment, loss of skills and loss of quality careers.  And sadly, as history has told us so many times, once these jobs have gone, they don't return.  The impact on the community can be far reaching.  Cadbury's have issued a statement affirming their desire to remain a standalone firm.