Workers at Cadbury in Tasmania want straight answers from the company since being told last week that 160 jobs will be shed from its Hobart factory.

At a meeting with workers after the announcement about the job cuts, workers were told that job cuts were not definite and still ‘a proposal.’

AMWU Tasmanian Secretary Anne Urquhart said the company’s behaviour was ridiculous and management were showing no respect for their workforce.

“People deserve a straight answer. There are workers who have been with this company for thirty to forty years and they have a right to know what’s going on.”

Although the company has said publicly that the decision to slash more than a quarter of its permanent workforce was the result of efficiency and productivity improvements, it is refusing to give details to its employees about who will go and when.

Ms Urquhart said it was unsettling for workers not to know where they stood.

“At a meeting with the workers, they were still calling the redundancies a ‘proposal’ after making a public announcement that they were cutting jobs.

“It’s like something out of Monty Python except it’s not funny for the workers who are waiting to find out whether they’ll have a job there next year.”

Cadbury employs about 700 workers at the factory, including about 600 permanent staff.

Ms Urquhart said workers knew something was happening at the site last week when they arrived for the start of their day shift to find the staff car park deserted.

“The announcement was no surprise for most of the workers. It’s been the worse kept secret for some time now.”

The news comes after Cadbury canned its famous chocolate factory tours in April.

The tours were one of Tasmania's favourite tourist activities, attracting more than 100,000 visitors a year.

Ms Urquhart said she has written to the company asking for an urgent meeting to have questions answered.

“Our members are demanding answers and they’re not getting them.”