The last Pineapple Lumps are rolling off the assembly line, signalling the end of Cadbury's 150-year legacy in Dunedin.

The production line comes to a halt on Friday with the factory set to close for good next Thursday.

Factory owner Mondelez International announced the closure in February last year, and 350 workers are losing their jobs as production moves to Australia.

Jim O'Malley, a Dunedin City Councillor who fought to save it, told Kate Hawkesby it's a sad day.

"It's the end of 150 years of production more or less at that site. We're just moving on and getting on to the next day now and there's not much we can do now. We're just going to have to accept it at this point.'

O'Malley is expecting a consumer backlash to some products, such as Pineapple Lumps, which were produced in Dunedin.

"I also would think that in about five or six years' time we're going to find out they won't be interested in making them anymore anyway.

"I really do think that in the long run, we'll probably see them disappear."

E tu food industry coordinator Phil Knight visited the Dunedin factory on Wednesday saying that the feeling among workers was positive.

"It's been tough on people coming to work and their workmates of many years aren't there. The oldest serving member has been there for 38 years."

"(But) people are looking forward to the next phase in their lives, albeit with some anxiety and sadness."

Knight said the usual hustle and bustle of the factory floor has been replaced by a disquieting silence.

"When you stand at one end of the factory floor and you look to the far end where it's all been cleared out, it's clean as a whistle but also a bit spooky too."

"Because you know that up until a few months ago, it would have been 30 or 40 people working there, it was a hive of activity. So, to see it so quiet - it's ghostly, eerie."

Knight said most union workers had either found future employment or had plans in place, with some retiring and others taking time to evaluate their next career move.

- additional reporting, NZ Newswire

LISTEN TO JIM O'MALLEY TALK WITH KATE HAWKESBY ABOVE