SAB restructure could lead to around 40 retrenchments

Around 40 or so workers will likely be retrenched after beer manufacturer, SA Breweries, announced that it reviewed its operating models across the business and decided on a restructuring.

The SA arm of AB InBev currently employs 5 000 people on a permanent basis. The company described the retrenchments as a minimal side effect.

SAB confirmed that it had already started implementing its restructuring process and was holding meetings with its employees.

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According to News24, the company said it would do its best to rehire employees whose roles were eliminated during the restructuring process in other areas of their operations.

AB InBev further confirmed that the company followed both the intention and wording of the labour relations laws during the process, and they are now in discussions with the employees who were impacted by the process.

During the alcohol bans two years ago, AB InBev threatened to cut 500 jobs. The job cuts were said to affect mostly positions in its supply and logistics workforce.

Full-year and fourth-quarter 2022 results

AB InBev recently released its full-year and fourth-quarter 2022 results. It said that the company made slightly more money than at the same time last year, mainly because they were able to sell their products for slightly higher prices.

However, it confirmed that they were not able to make as much profit as they wanted to because they had problems producing enough products to meet demand during the busiest time of the year, due to floods at one of their breweries.

Additionally, their profits decreased slightly because the cost of the materials they used to make their products went up.

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The company reported that in the 2022 fiscal year, the business continued to grow and sold more beer than ever before. The company estimates that they have even surpassed its pre-pandemic sales from 2019.

The report put this down to smart investments in the business and sticking to the initial business plan outline.

AB InBev also reported having improved the popularity of all its beers, both regular and special ones.

“Our most popular brand, Carling Black Label, grew by about 15%. We also sold a lot more of our premium, super-premium, and other special beers. More than 60% of our customers now use our online marketplace to buy our products,” they said.