E-Malt.com News article: UK: Molson Coors closing brewery in Hampshire with more than 100 jobs at risk

Jobs losses have been announced at a 50-year-old Manor Park brewery in Alton, Hampshire which is to close next year, BBC reported on December 8.

Molson Coors Brewing Company said it had not been able to replace the work lost when Heineken moved its production back in-house.

A spokesman for the firm said it was working with employees at its site in Alton to "mitigate job losses".

East Hampshire District Council said more than 100 jobs were at risk and added it would support those affected.

The Molson Coors spokesman said the firm was trying to "identify alternative proposals for the site" and added its priority was to support impacted employees.

District councillor Julie Butler said the authority would hold "an immediate high level meeting" with Molson Coors, Hampshire County Council and others to respond to the closure and plan for the regeneration of the brewery site.

The brewery is expected to close at the end of May.

According to a company spokesperson, for the past seven years production on behalf of Heineken has equated to 75% of Manor Park’s production. The balance has been comprised of Molson Coors’ brands – namely Carling, Grolsch and Coors Light.

Manor Park has an annual capacity of 2.6 million hectolitres and has been running close to maximum capacity in recent years. It has been a keg beer only brewery.

Molson Coors has been aware of a looming overcapacity issue across its three industrial scale breweries, in Burton-on-Trent and in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, following notification from Heineken that it intended to terminate its contract brewing arrangement with the expiration of the current agreement in April 2015.

Total volumes that have been brewed on behalf of Heineken are estimated at between two and three million barrels annually. In advance of the end of the contract brewing agreement, the Dutch brewer has been investing to modernise and expand Royal, its brewery in south Manchester.

Molson Coors is currently completing a five-year, £75 million redevelopment of the Burton Brewery. The last year’s work concerns modernisation of the fermentation and filtration functions in the north brewery. These projects follow on from a £21 million investment in a high-speed bottling line.

In contrast, recent investment at both Alton and Tadcaster has been minimal. Asked if Tadcaster was to begin a similar consultation process, the Molson Coors spokesperson commented, “Tadcaster continues to operate as business as usual.”


10 December, 2014