USA: North Carolina legislators ask the Senate to investigate MillerCoors’ decision to close brewery in Eden

North Carolina state legislators have asked the U.S. Senate to investigate MillerCoors’ decision to close its brewery in Eden, Greensboro.com reported on December 7.

The plant’s closure, announced in September, will eliminate more than 500 jobs in the city.

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and Rep. Bert Jones, both Republicans, sent a letter co-signed by 112 state lawmakers to the U.S. Senate’s Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights subcommittee of which North Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis is a member.

According to the letter, the legislators want representatives of MillerCoors’ parent company, SABMiller, to explain why it announced the closing of Eden’s brewery three days before it began merger discussions with Budweiser’s parent company, AB InBev.

The legislators also want to know whether the decision was made in advance of the merger so the combined companies would not be labeled a monopoly by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Given that in the last few years alone MillerCoors has approved new contracts for local brewery workers, signed a 25-year agreement with the city of Eden and undertaken a 70,000 square-foot facility expansion, why would it shut down the brewery after those major investments?” the legislators wrote.

The Associated Press reported in November that when the merger is complete, SABMiller will sell its 58 percent stake in its venture with Molson Coors for $12 billion to allay fears that the company would become a monopoly with a stranglehold on the U.S. market. The deal includes rights to the Miller brand name and gives Molson Coors full control of operations.

09 December, 2015