Carlsberg, the world’s fifth-largest brewer, could close up to 14 of its 29 breweries in Europe as part of a plan to streamline its production on the continent.
The Danish brewery, producer of Carlsberg and Tuborg beer brands, has not decided yet which breweries would be closed, and when, or how many jobs would be affected.
“As a group, our breweries also must become more efficient across the borders,” spokesman Jens Peter Skaarup said. “It will mean that some breweries will be closed.”
In an interview with the Boersen financial newspaper, Carlsberg Chief Executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen singled out the production facility in Copenhagen, saying, “it likely would not exist” in six years.
“We cannot say when it is going to happen for the other breweries,” Skaarup said. The other breweries are located in nine European countries.
A spokesman told the BBC that Western Europe was a mature, declining, market and that it wanted to concentrate on Asia, where consumption was growing.
