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The definition of irony

A friend asked me the other day what my definition of irony was. I pondered the question and replied that it was when a bank, owned 85% by the taxpayer, had financed the takeover of a UK company, which ended with a factory closure and job losses a week after the deal was done. Sound familiar?

That is just what happened in the case of Kraft acquiring that bastion of Quaker principles, Cadbury. While it’s an outrage that 400 jobs are to go at their plant in Keynsham, near Bristol, the whole deal raises other questions about corporate responsibility and government policy in the area of mergers and acquisitions.

While it could be argued that the Kraft board never made a cast iron guarantee to keep the plant open, it was certainly disingenuous in its assertion that it would ‘hope’ to save the factory once the deal was done. In retrospect, it’s easy to see how the workers at Keynsham have been left with a very bitter taste indeed. Perhaps lessons will be learnt here and the government, now looking characteristically toothless, will realise that without greater regulation, the UK’s family jewels of brands and skills will continue to be plundered by global corporations. Maybe what is needed is a ‘public interest’ test for all proposed takeovers, to ensure UK workers are not mere casualties of the M&A world.

The Kraft episode goes back to the basics of good public relations; which despite the influence of tabloids and spin doctors, is still about honesty, clear communication and making the right choices. Although criticised for being a bit slow off the mark, Toyota is proving the old adage that ‘fessing up’ and making good your mistakes will come good in the end. Life must be very testing for everyone at the world’s biggest carmaker at the moment, but I am confident that they will come out the other side in far better shape than a certain American FMCG brand.

What seems to get missed in the feeding frenzy of mergers, takeovers, product recalls and corporate communications is that in the end, it should be all about people’s welfare – be it staff, customers, shareholders or suppliers. Responsible industries should look after the needs of all their ‘publics’, not screwing suppliers for the best deal or exploiting workers with low wages and poor conditions.

Good companies take a far longer view, with some in the past even building whole communities, village halls, swimming pools and gardens for their staff. Now doesn’t that sound vaguely familiar?

St John