The jobs of 350 workers at York's Monkhill Confectionery remain in limbo today until new owner Tangerine Confectionery makes up its mind regarding the factory's future.

A spokesman for Tangerine, whose £58 million cash offer for Monkhill has been accepted by owners Cadbury Schweppes said nothing would be decided until a series of consultation meetings had taken place on the site in Low Poppleton Lane.

The first of these meetings, which took place yesterday, were designed to ensure a smooth transition and to allow Blackpool-based Tangerine to get to know the Monkhill workforce, the trade unions and the management.

Only then - towards the end of next month, when the takeover became official, would a decision be taken on the best way forward for the company.

The Tangerine spokesman said: "It could mean taking on staff, rather than laying off. At this stage we just don't know."

But the spokesman stressed that one option not on the agenda was to close any of the Monkhill sites - at York, Cleckheaton, Pontefract or Chesterfield.

He said that the company, which last year bought the confectionery arm of Burtons Foods, had made a commitment to UK manufacturing and, where possible, all ingredients were sourced within the UK.

"We are not about shutting factories and transferring production to Hungary."

Monkhill, whose revenue was expected to top £76 million last year, manufactures two million sweets every year, including household brands such as Sharps of York, Barratt Sherbert Fountains, Jameson's chocolates, Trebor Basset mints and, at its Pontefract factory, Butterkist popcorn.