E-Malt.com News article: Canada: Molson Coors set to close its Vancouver beer bottling line

Molson Coors will close the bottling line and lay off staff at its brewery on Burrard Street in Vancouver, citing changing consumer tastes and government subsidies that favour smaller breweries, theprovince.com reported on December, 18.

The company said its decision was based on “careful consideration and evaluation of the brewery operations, combined with the need to address the changing trends in consumer demand and the overall industry.”

Jennifer Kerr, director of corporate affairs in Ontario and the West for Molson Coors Canada, said she couldn’t disclose how many employees will be affected.

“There’s no immediate impact on staff,” Kerr said.

“They’ve been given notice that it’s happening, but it won’t take effect until the end of the first quarter, which is end of March.”

The company is working to ensure those employees are “well taken care of,” Kerr said.

Molson Coors will continue to bottle beer at its Toronto and Montreal breweries, and will ship bottled products to B.C. based on demand, she said. The Vancouver plant will continue to produce beer in cans and kegs.

A representative for the Brewery, Winery & Distillery Workers Union, Local 300, which represents Molson’s Vancouver employees, was not made available for comment before deadline.

Molson Coors partly attributed lower demand for bottled products in Canada to “government subsidies encouraging small brewer growth through tax incentives.”

Large breweries have been struggling to compete with growing craft beer sales in B.C., which rose 42 per cent between 2013 and 2014, according to data from the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch’s most recent quarterly market review.

"They're hurting us," Kerr said of the government's subsidies for small breweries. "And particularly in B.C., there's definitely diminished demand for bottled products."

Beer Canada, a trade organization which advocates on behalf of beer makers including Molson Coors, reported that more British Columbians have been choosing canned beer over bottles in recent years.

Bottled beer made up just 16 per cent of Canadian beer sales in B.C. in 2013, down from 22 per cent in 2008, according to Beer Canada’s 2014 annual report. Canned beer made up 68 per cent of Canadian beer sales in B.C. in 2013.

In contrast, Newfoundlanders bought 85 per cent of their Canadian beer in bottles last year, the report found.

Canada-wide, bottled beer made up 43 per cent of Canadian beer sales in 2013, down from 59 per cent in 2008.


26 December, 2014