The Evening Press is campaigning to save Terry's and more than 300 jobs.

Mike Laycock looks back at a remarkably similar campaign fought in the 1990s to save more than 300 jobs at York firm RR Donnelley.

The coincidence is extraordinary. In 1996, the American company RR Donnelley, based in Chicago, wanted to cut 314 jobs at its York factory, threatening a tradition going back to the 19th century.

Now, in 2004, another American company, Kraft Foods, also based in Chicago, wants to close its York factory with the loss of 316 jobs, ending a tradition dating back to 1767.

In both cases, it was - and is - all about rationalisation, efficiency, technology and profit, in a tough and competitive global economy.

In the case of Terry's, union leaders and the Evening Press are calling for Kraft to reconsider its decision to up sticks and move production to factories in several countries abroad.

Our petition tonight says that chocolate-making tradition is too vital a tradition and too important to the York economy to be lost.

We accept the need to leave the current, underutilised site near York Racecourse, but want the company to look again at building a new purpose-built factory in the York area, where York workers can continue to use their expertise in making chocolate.

Funnily enough, that is exactly what eventually happened in the case of RR Donnelley.

The Donnelley saga began with shock news in 1996 that the company wanted to end magazine and catalogue printing at its printworks in Boroughbridge Road, with the loss of three-quarters of the workforce.

We campaigned to save the jobs, and eventually delivered a 3,200-signature petition to the company's American headquarters.

The firm subsequently announced it was to make the York plant a centre of excellence in directory printing, with a £20 million investment and expansion of the site. Then, in 1999, it revealed it was leaving York after all - but only to the 47-acre former Samsung factory alongside the A1 at Flaxby.

It might no longer have been based in York, but it was close enough for York workers to commute to. A massive investment meant that state-of-the-art printing facilities could be installed to ensure the factory was efficient and profitable, helping to safeguard jobs into the future.

Kraft says it has carefully looked at relocating to a new site in the York area, and rejected the idea in favour of closing down altogether and moving production to Europe. We are saying to Kraft: look again. You could still have an all-golden future in the York area, just like Donnelley.

Will the closure of Terry's affect you or your family? Please contact mike.laycock@ycp.co.uk, or phone 01904 567132.

Updated: 11:07 Wednesday, April 21, 2004