Ms Curran is threatening to quit the city working party that was set up to deal with the forthcoming closure of the factory. The group is scheduled to meet today, during which she would decide whether to remain a member.
"I am very disappointed and quite angry that Jim O’Malley has felt he’s had to pull out of the bid.
"[Mondelez] have treated Dunedin community leaders with contempt and disrespect."
Yesterday, Dr O’Malley announced he was dropping the bid because Mondelez’s timeframes were not workable. He still hopes to start a chocolate factory.
His pledge drive to fund the venture attracted more than $5.7million in pledges in two weeks. Ms Curran said Mondelez had been far too inflexible, and it "poured cold water" on Dr O’Malley’s venture by discouraging workers from investing.
Ms Curran said Mondelez encouraged working party members to believe an operator could buy the factory warehouse to manufacture the sweets in Dunedin. Dr O’Malley — a Dunedin city councillor — pulled out of the working party in order to pursue such a venture.
In March, Mondelez told the Otago Daily Times the site’s future was unlikely to involve manufacturing, and there was no suitable sweet-maker in Dunedin.
However, the working party got a different message, Ms Curran said.
In response, Mondelez spokesman Jake Hatton said the company had been flexible and responsive, both to bidders and the working party.
"Following a request from some of the MPs within the working group, we opened up the opportunity for a Dunedin-based option to be considered despite there being no existing manufacturers.
"As a member of the working group, Clare is aware of the transition timelines to ensure continued supply and these timelines have not changed.
"The only element that has changed was our decision to add flexibility to allow [Dr O’Malley’s] proposal to be developed so that we could assess its viability on the same transition timelines as the other interested parties.
"However, Jim has decided not to pursue this any further after assessing his own timelines which would have meant a gap in production of up to six months," Mr Hatton said.
He denied the company discouraged workers from investing.
Mondelez is assessing two bids for the classic Kiwi sweets. One is understood to be Rainbow Confectionery, in Oamaru. The other is North Island-based.
It expects to make a decision by the end of next month.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull could not be contacted for comment.
