Concerns over Telford Heinz jobs amid merger plan with Kraft

The deal will gather some of the UK's best-known grocery brands within one of the world's biggest food firms, which will be called the Kraft Heinz Company and which will have annual revenue of more than £18 billion. Current Heinz shareholders will own 51 per cent of the combined company, with Kraft shareholders owning a 49 per cent stake.

But Unite has expressed fears about the effect of the move on its 1,300 Heinz members across UK and the Republic of Ireland – including some of the 200 staff employed at the Heinz sauce sachet factory on Hortonwood in Telford.

The union says it wants an urgent meeting over the future of the sites, and its members' job security.

"We and our trade union colleagues in the food industry around the world know from experience that deals like this often involve job losses and ruthless cost-cutting, as global capital wants a quick return on its investment," said Julia Long, Unite's national officer for the food sector.

"News of this merger is a bolt from the blue for our members at Heinz. They deserve better, and we will be fighting for a better deal for them."

Kraft's high-profile brands are Philadelphia, Dairylea cheese triangles and Capri Sun fruit juice. It also owns Maxwell House coffee.

It is best known in the UK for its controversial takeover of chocolate-maker Cadbury in 2010 for £11.5 billion. – although that has since been spun off into Mondelez, which has factories at Chirk and Leominster which will not be affected by the deal.

The deal was engineered by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and the company that owns Heinz, Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital.

"This is my kind of transaction," said Mr Buffett, "uniting two world-class organisations and delivering shareholder value.

"I'm excited by the opportunities for what this new combined organisation will achieve."