Scottish & Newcastle, the biggest brewer in Britain until it gets taken over by Carlesberg and Heineken, will close its largest brewery in the UK and eliminate 362 jobs.
The brewery at Reading produces 6 million hectoliters (more than 5 million U.S. beer barrels) of S&N’s biggest selling UK brands, Kronenbourg and Fosters. About 3 million hectoliters will be outsourced to Molson Coors, while the rest will be made at remaining S&N breweries.
“It is well documented that there is general over capacity in the UK brewing sector, and these proposals have been put in place to address this issue,” said S&N operations director Stephen Glancey. “The nature of the Reading site, the amount of investment required to make it competitive and its relative cost compared with other UK facilities means there is a strong case for closure.”
Reading is the 48th major brewery to close since 1990, according to figures from the Beer and Pub Association.