Australia: Lion cutting 39 jobs at its James Boag brewery in Tasmania

Beer and dairy group Lion will cut 39 jobs from its James Boag brewery in Tasmania as part of an overhaul of its national beer production, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on February 8.

Lion, which is owned by Japanese giant Kirin Corporation, revealed the plans on February 8 as it prepares to take away 20 million litres of annual beer production of some of its national brands from the Launceston plant and transfer it to other breweries on the mainland which are under-utilised. This will leave the James Boag brewery producing 36 million litres of beer annually from the plant by the end of September, 2016 when the transition is due to be completed.

Lion's managing director of beer, wine and spirits, James Brindley, said on February 8 that Lion, which makes big-selling beers including XXXX Gold, Tooheys and West End, had extra room in its national network of production facilities.

"We have capacity in our national network and the Boag's brewery in its current format is also under-utilised," Mr Brindley said.

He said the reconfiguration would return the Tasmanian facility to its previous role of being a brewer of the James Boag portfolio of Tasmanian beers.

He said around 39 roles would be made redundant, while there would also be an impact on contractor roles. A specific timetable was still being worked through.

Lion acquired the James Boag business in 2007. The workforce will be sliced from about 104 positions to 65.

Both Lion and its major rival Carlton and United Breweries, which produces beers including Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught and Crown Lager, are trying to reverse a substantial downturn in the consumption of mainstream beers in Australia - a A$14 billion-a-year market. Official figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed in 2015 that beer drinking had fallen to a 68-year low, even though small craft brewers producing boutique products in small batches were experiencing growth of between 20 to 25 per cent.

10 February, 2016