A page of history is turning in Alsace.

Motivated by a reorganization of Heineken's production tool in France, the brewer announced on Monday the closure, "within three years", of its brewery located in Schiltigheim (Bas-Rhin).

An announcement made in a context of "falling market share", and an investment plan of 100 million euros for the production sites of Marseille and Mons-en-Baroeul (North).

This closure threatens 220 jobs.

"Social dialogue will be the priority for the coming months," said the group in a press release, which aims to reach a "collective agreement" around a job protection plan (PSE).

The group justifies the cessation of this activity by "the many constraints to which the site is subject", its isolation in the city center which "prevents any expansion", its "excessive production costs due to certain obsolete equipment" and its “strategy of industrial diversification which has not borne fruit”.

100 million euros in the North and in Marseille

The volumes produced in Schiltigheim will be transferred to the two other French production sites, in Mons-en-Baroeul and Marseille.

These two sites will benefit from a 100 million euro investment plan with a view in particular to their expansion and “improving environmental performance”.

"This project to concentrate our production tool on two breweries instead of the current three is necessary to ensure our long-term competitiveness in France," said Pascal Gilet, CEO of Heineken France, quoted in the press release.

We will also carefully examine any offer to take over the site that may be proposed.

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Fischer will remain produced locally

The Fischer brand beer, brewed in Alsace “since 1821” and whose Alsatian identity has become a marketing argument, will remain produced locally, in a “microbrewery”.

This closure announcement is part of a context of "decline in market share" for Heineken, caused by "the increase in the cost of raw materials and energy", the impact of the health crisis on "the sector hotel-restaurant cafés”, and “increased competition”, in particular by the increase in the number of microbreweries.

Heineken, the second largest brewer in the world behind AB InBev, had recorded a net profit of 3.32 billion euros in 2021, after suffering losses of up to 204 million euros in 2020, a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic. .

Founded in 19th century Amsterdam, Heineken produces and sells more than 300 brands of beer and cider, including Heineken, Strongbow and Amstel, and employs more than 85,000 people worldwide.

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