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Scottish & Newcastle has announced its intention to close its Berkshire Brewery operations, on the outskirts of Reading, by early 2010. It will immediately commence consultation with affected employees at the site on the impact of the closure of Berkshire Brewery. The consultation process will include full support for all employees affected.
This follows the announcement in November 2007 of the closure of bottling facilities at the site, and the transfer of 3 million hectolitres of production to Coors Brewers Ltd, under a contract brewing agreement.
S&N has carried out a detailed review of the site, and concluded that closure is currently the most viable option going forward. These plans have been shared with the Heineken & Carlsberg consortium as part of the due diligence.
The intention would be to transfer residual brewing and packaging work progressively to other S&N sites, including Tadcaster in Yorkshire, the Royal Brewery in Manchester and Dunston, Gateshead. If fully implemented, the net effect of these changes would be a saving of £13 million per annum from S&N’s cost base, which will enable it to remain competitive within the UK market.
Alternative employment Every effort will be made to seek alternative employment for those affected, including outplacement support, retraining and/or redeployment where a suitable alternative post exists. S&N will work closely with local agencies to ensure that the impact on the local economy and community is minimised.
Stephen Glancey, S&N Group Operations Director said: “It's well documented that there is general over-capacity in the UK brewing sector, and these proposals have been put in place to address this issue. The nature of the Reading site, the amount of investment required to make it competitive, and its relative cost compared to other UK facilities means that there's a strong business case for closure.
"We will, of course, do all we can to mitigate the effects of the closure on the people affected.”
Briefings with affected employees began 12 February, and talks with union representatives will begin over the next few days. In the meantime, it remains business as usual at the site.