Cadbury's decision to shed 80 jobs at its Hobart factory is disappointing but about making the company more efficient, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.
"But the great thing about the Tasmanian economy right now is that there is ... a lot more confidence," he told reporters on Friday.
Mr Abbott said it was sad the company walked away from a grants deal that would have secured $16 million in federal funds for the Claremont factory.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the prime minister and his treasurer would "crawl over broken glass" to save their own jobs but weren't lifting a hand to save manufacturing jobs.
"The government's flipped and flopped on supporting Cadbury in Tasmania," he told reporters in Melbourne.
