Canada: Labatt Breweries of Canada, a unit of Belgian beer giant InBev, will close a brewery in New Westminster, British Columbia, and lay off 180 workers because of excess capacity, the company said on September 8. The move is designed to reduce excess capacity in Western Canada, the company said. Labatt will offer severance packages in compliance with the collective agreement with its labor union and set aside $1 million to assist employees with the transition, it said in a statement.

Some employees may be relocated elsewhere, as the company plans to expand its other two western breweries, spokesman Nigel Miller. New regulations that don't require brewers to have facilities in each province caused the overcapacity, he said.

Labatt, which makes Blue, Bud and Bud Light beers, a unit of Belgian beer maker InBev, formerly known as Interbrew, said it will donate a portion of the brewery's land worth more than C$250,000 ($194,000) to the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation after the brewery is decommissioned.

Labatt's Western Canada division also operates breweries in Creston, British Columbia, and Edmonton, Alberta. Labatt has roughly 45 percent of the Canadian beer market, equal to archrival Molson Inc.

10 September, 2004