Word: beer
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...nearly two weeks, picketers have stacked crates and set fires to block the entrances to the headquarters of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, in the city of Leuven, as well as other plants. The protesters have not only prevented any beer from leaving the breweries but also stopped the raw ingredients and packaging materials from getting in. At one point, workers at the Jupille plant, near Liège, even took their managers hostage for 11 hours, demanding to speak with the company's top officials, before finally letting them go the following morning. A few days...
...cuts - about a third of which would be in Belgium - follow the company's announcement of profits of $1.55 billion in the third quarter of last year. This has angered the Belgian unions, which are taking a stand against what they see as an affront to the country's beer-making tradition. "This is the ugly face of capitalism," says Roger Van Vlasselaer, who heads the Flemish Brabant section of the ABVV-FGTB, Belgium's main union. "AB InBev are just thinking of their bottom line for shareholders, regardless of the social cost. There is no reason...
...company sees things differently. Although its headquarters are in Leuven, where AB InBev can trace its brewing roots back to 1366, the firm's power brokers are Brazilian investment bankers who manage a global empire with a workforce of 120,000 and more than 200 brands of beer, including Beck's, Labatt, Bass and Löwenbräu. It has expanded rapidly, following a series of rapacious mergers and acquisitions in recent years, most notably its takeover of Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch in 2008 - after which InBev became AB InBev. But that move also saddled the company with huge...
...biggest problem AB InBev faces is the downward trend in beer consumption in Europe. The company says European drinkers have been gradually switching to wine and spirits in recent years, causing sales of beer to decline sharply. In beer-loving Belgium, the problem has been particularly acute: beer sales plummeted 20% from 2000 to 2008. One reason for this, according to the market-research firm Euromonitor International, is that the Belgian population is aging and thus less likely to go out to bars to drink. And the trend shows little sign of reversing. Fifty years ago, the average Belgian drank...
...Despite the fact that the country is drinking less beer, Belgium has cemented its global brewing reputation with an effective export strategy: in 2007, 57% of the beer produced in the country was exported, up from 37% in 2000 and 7% in 1970. But global sales have taken a hit in the recession, particularly in emerging markets like Brazil and Russia, which had been the cornerstones of the company's business in recent years. (See pictures of the Oktoberfest beer festival...