Norway: Carlsberg's Ringnes may cut 500 jobs

Norwegian brewery Ringnes, a unit of the Danish beer maker Carlsberg A/S may cut up to 500 jobs in its soft drinks operations due to the abolition of a duty on non-recyclable bottles, Reuters cited its chief executive saying on Tuesday, June 13.

"The change will have major financial consequences. We must consider a dramatic cutback in the number of employees. It could affect 300-500 employees," Ringnes CEO Jan Bodd told Reuters, declining to specify the extent of the financial damage.

Norway's biggest brewery group employs a total of around 1,800. Later this month, Norway's parliament is expected to pass new legislation removing a duty on disposable bottles. But Ringnes only produces soft drinks on recyclable bottles and it is the staff collecting and cleaning these bottles who may now be made redundant.

Ringnes plans to update its production facilities in order to produce soft drinks on disposable bottles. Bodd said Ringnes may cut the number of soft drink plants from three to one, but said unions were understanding.

"We have had a very positive dialogue with the employees, and they understand the consequences of this. We don't believe the employees will strike," he said, adding that no time line for the redundancies had yet been decided on.

Carlsberg, the world's sixth-largest brewer, last month posted an unexpected operating loss in a traditionally weak first quarter, but said it had grown its market share and repeated its forecasts for the full year.

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