Speakers at a Dunedin rally striving to keep the Cadbury factory open have urged owner Mondelez International to remember the human faces of their staff, and not just focus on profits.
Last month, Mondelez told workers it planned to close the Dunedin factory by March next year and lay off more than 360 workers, and is now consulting staff over the proposals.
Save Cadbury Community Action Group chairman Don Pryde, who also chaired the protest meeting, said Cadbury's Dunedin operation was profitable.
It had returned a profit to Mondelez of $45 million between 2012 and 2016.
The proposed closure ''doesn't seem to make sense''.
In a wider context, the proposed factory closure, albeit with plans to continue the Cadbury World tourist attraction, would ''hit hard'' in the city, and ''these are good jobs''.
He urged Dunedin people to continue to fight the planned closure, and to join the protests and efforts to find job-saving alternatives.
''We're not going to go quietly.''
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull urged Mondelez to respond to his inquiry about whether there were alternatives that could be considered to keep the factory open.
He and other city leaders had met representatives of Mondelez International and asked them ''under what conditions would they possibly retain the factory in Dunedin''.
''Disappointingly, they have not been forthcoming with a response, insisting that they complete consultation with their workforce before looking at other possibilities.''
But Mr Cull said Mondelez had told him there was nothing more the council could have done to support its continued presence in Dunedin.
He urged them to reconsider the city's invitation to work together to find a solution, perhaps retaining part of the factory.
''They are wrong to underestimate and even devalue the contribution of this city to their success,'' Mr Cull said
Mondelez would be ''incredibly misguided'' to close the ''efficient and profitable'' factory and lay off the ''top performing'' workforce.
If Mondelez did go ahead with its proposal and close the factory, it would ''ultimately regret the decision''.
A Mondelez spokesman said the company had invested significantly in the factory over the past decade and had considered a range of alternatives to make the site more competitive.
The company was ''committed to working through consultation with our people and their representatives to ensure we consider all possible options'', the spokesman said.
''These jobs are important to us,'' Cadbury worker Donna Bouma told the crowd of about 200 people.
''Dunedin people have grown up with Cadbury down there.''
She had worked there for 16 years, Cadbury was an ''excellent employer'', and she and her children had thought they could rely on Cadbury work.
''The thought of closing the place is really devastating.''
She praised the ''fantastic'' support that had been shown for Cadbury workers and hoped there could be ''a light at the end of the tunnel''.
-Additional reporting by Eileen Goodwin
