Security guards were outside every entrance to the popular Cadbury World tourist attraction on Thursday morning and the factory was closed for the day.
Hundreds of workers were called to a meeting and briefed on the proposal to move production to Australia. In a statement, Mondelez said it would invest to redevelop the tourist side of the operation if the local community wanted it to.
Workers leaving the meeting had been told not to comment and had been given media contact cards to show people. They looked shocked and upset.
