Anheuser-Busch InBev to Cut 800 European Jobs

Sales from the brewer's Western European operations fell 7.5% in 2008 and another 17% over the first nine months of 2009, but it still managed to boost profits in the region through cost-cutting.

11 Jan 2010 --- Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, is to cut 800 jobs across western Europe, 10% of its 8,000 workforce in the region. The firm said the move was a response to falling beer sales, with the layoffs spread across Belgium, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

"Even though beer has traditionally proved one of the most resistant products in less prosperous economic times, our industry isn't immune to the general economic climate," the company said in a statement.

European consumers in recent years have been switching from beer to wine and spirits, even as the region's population of legal drinkers declines. Sales from the brewer's Western European operations fell 7.5% in 2008 and another 17% over the first nine months of 2009, but it still managed to boost profits in the region through cost-cutting.

The news trigged protests at the firm's brewery in the Belgium town of Leuven, where it also has its headquarters. Anheuser-Busch InBev's brands include Becks, Budweiser and Stella Artois.

Anheuser-Busch InBev was formed in 2008 when Belgium-based InBev bought Anheuser-Busch, the owner of Budweiser, and the largest brewer in the US. InBev itself was formed in 2004 when Belgian Interbrew merged with Brazil's AmBev.