Belgium: InBev closes consultation process and announces its decision to reduce employee-base at global headquarters

Having completed consultation with the social partners, as well as consultation of each of the global functions, InBev S.A. communicated on November 23 its decision to reduce the number of positions at its global headquarters (GHQ) in Leuven, Belgium.

The new organization aims to create clear responsibilities and to eliminate overlapping or duplicated processes and activities across functions, as well as across Zones and GHQ, taking into account the right match of employee profiles with the new organizational requirements.

This decision will lead to a collective dismissal of maximum 45 people, on a current total of about 400 positions.

InBev will now discuss the modalities on the social plan and will start discussions with all concerned employees.

Total estimated one-off costs relating to this restructuring are approximately 10 million EUR. The yearly recurring EBITDA improvement is expected to be around 9 million EUR.

InBev is a publicly traded company based in Leuven, Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer by volume. InBev’s strategy is to strengthen its local platforms by building significant positions in the world's major beer markets through organic growth, world-class efficiency, targeted acquisitions, and by putting consumers first. InBev has a portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois®, BRAHMA®, Beck’s®, Skol®—the third-largest selling beer brand in the world—Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Staropramen® and Bass®. InBev employs some 77,000 people, running operations in over 30 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2004, InBev realized revenue of 8.57 billion euro (including four months of AmBev).

25 November, 2005