Running Dry: Belgium's Looming Beer Crisis (The 'ugly face of Capitalism', union job layoffs loom)

Time on Yahoo ^ | 1/21/10 | Leo Cendrowicz

[NormsRevenge]

If there's one thing Belgium is known for above all else - more than Tintin, chocolate and female tennis stars - it's beer. The Belgians have a rich beer-making tradition dating back to the Middle Ages and more than 125 breweries today; beer, it is said, is the very lifeblood of the country. But trouble is, literally, brewing. Supplies of Belgium's top brands - Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe - are rapidly running low ..

For 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, they've 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, .. before finally letting them go the following morning. ..

The 800 jobs on the chopping block in Europe - 10% of AB InBev's total European workforce - may be a mere ripple compared to the tidal wave of layoffs across the world in the past year. But the proposed cuts - about a third of which would be in Belgium - follow the company posting profits of $1.55 billion in the third quarter of last year. This has angered the Belgian unions, who 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 at all to fire people."

[RIRed]

Mmmm. Westmalle Trappist Ale.

[NormsRevenge]

pats muh frosty Heiny tenderly..

I’m not in it for the profit personally.

It’s a cruel world out there. Stock up regularly.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Mmmmm mmmm mmmmm....

[RIRed]

That’s a good one too. I think I may need to compare them all now.

[njslim]

Sacrifices have to be made

Looks like going to start drinking Iron City...

[caver]

“(The ‘ugly face of Capitalism’, union job layoffs loom)”

I’d call it the ugly face of unions. Too bad boys.

[Onelifetogive]

"AB InBev are just thinking of their bottom line for shareholders, regardless of the social cost. There is no reason at all to fire people."

If AB can make just as much beer with 10% fewer people, then society will will become wealthier as those people begin to go somewhere else and actually add value.

[Leo Farnsworth]

Interesting day, just opened a Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve.

No sign of strikers here...

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

While you're at it, try some of the brews from Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY.

Brewery Ommegang. Belgian brewing in America.

Phenominal stuff. The Chocolate Indulgence Porter actually surpasses the best Belgian brew I've ever tasted.

[BobbyT]

How dare you suggest they lose the right to be paid not to add value to anything!

[CSM]

The best information that I can find is that their revenue for 2009 was $17.7B. That puts their $1.55B at just under 9% profit. What profit % would be acceptable to these union goons and would they be willing to accept the same return on their pension plans and 401K’s?

[Tzimisce]

Maybe Obama can invite both sides to the White House for a beer summit.

[Verginius Rufus]

Probably more people have heard of Hercule Poirot than of Hoegaarden.

[The SISU kid]

BEER Ping....

[tired&retired]

You just mentioned my favorite beer of all time. I was sitting at an outdoor cafe in Leuven Belgium and Westmalle’s brewmaster just happened to be next sitting next to me. We had quite a few together. Westmalle’s triple is my all time favorite beer, ever..!

Westmalle is a Trappist and will never, ever be owned by InBev. Heck, they are so quality focused that it took several years to switch from open tank fermenting to conical fermenters. All so they could keep the quality the same.

I love it in Belgium and try to go to the Great Belgium Beer Festival every year in the Grande’ Place in Brussels.. Three days of 300+ Belgian beers!

[tired&retired]

InBev purchased Hoegaarden from Pierre Cellis and closed the hometown brewery in the city of Hoegaarden. The people of the city were so upset that they petitioned the EU to take the name away from the beer. The beer quality went down hill in the new facility and I now hear that they returned some production to the original city. This is an excellent wit or “white” beer made from wheat with coriander, grains of paradise and bitter orange peel added to the boil. I’ve been making it in my homebrew setup for quite a few years now.

I love it in Belgium as they sell beer in the vending machines just as we sell soda here in the USA.

[grey_whiskers]

Thanks, BFL.

[Stentor]

Best beer I ever had was Timothy Taylor’s Landlord Beer in The Black Bull in Haworth, England. Need to win the lottery to get back there. Off topic reminiscence.

[Tainan]

Thus is not a "capitalism" problem it is, once again, a union problem. InBev bought the plants and intend to make a profit from them.
And having spoken to several Belgians since this story first appeared last week, it is NOT affecting the majority of beer brands that Belgians drink.
These are export brands and are of, what Belgians consider, a much lower quality.
So beer drinking in Belgium continues relatively unaffected.

Now the chavs in England might be having some shakes w/out their cheap Stella...;)