Heineken has announced that it will close its Beamish & Crawford brewery in Cork, Ireland in March 2009. All the company’s draught beer operations will now be located at the Murphy brewery site in Cork. The decision follows a review of the recently acquired Beamish & Crawford brewery.The review concluded that a significant investment would be needed for the Beamish & Crawford brewery to meet international standards.
This, combined with the difficulty of expansion, excess brewing capacity at Heineken Ireland and the challenging market dynamics, has reinforced the company’s decision to close the Beamish & Crawford brewery.
About 40 employees from Beamish & Crawford will transfer to Heineken Ireland and it is anticipated that 120 personnel will be let go.