AB InBev in temporary layoffs amid beer protest

"Due to the current blockades we are unable to provide work for our employees in the breweries" which "will have to resort to temporary lay offs linked to strike action," an AB InBev statement said.

Some of the sites, producing Jupiler and Stella Artois have been blocked by employees concerned about job losses for almost two weeks, while the centre making Hoegaarden has been at a standstill for a week.

"The management started using 'lock outs' in Louvain, Jupille and Hoegaarden on Wednesday morning. They kicked employees out into the streets and put chains on the gates," a spokesman for the CSC trade union told Belga news agency.

The protest action, which includes blockades, came after the group announced on 7 January 2010 that it planned to cut 10% of its workforce in western Europe, or around 800 jobs.

In Belgium, 263 of the 2,700 jobs at AB InBev will go.

Trade unions and employers met Tuesday to try to resolve the standoff, after efforts to find a compromise broke down on 19 January. Those talks also failed and a meeting set for Wednesday was cancelled.

A spokesman for the FGTB said talks were expected to resume early Thursday.

AB InBev produces around 60% of the volume of beer consumed in Belgium's bars and cafes, according to the national hoteliers and restaurants federation.

The group's production woes have also hit neighbouring France and the Netherlands.

Source: AFP

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