C&C Group, the Ireland-based beer and cider maker, is set to close a Tennent’s lager distribution facility in Scotland.
The move is set to affect around 96 jobs, according to trade union Unite.
C&C Group confirmed to Just Drinks it will close the site in Newbridge in Edinburgh to “service our customers more effectively”.
Unite revealed today (15 May) the brewer is proposing to transfer 41 employees from the Newbridge site to its facility in Cambuslang in Glasgow.
The union added “all options” are on the table for it to try and save the plant from ceasing operations.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite is determined to pursue every avenue to stop the proposed closure of the Newbridge facility. Tennent’s, which is Scotland’s largest beer company, is a subsidiary of the very profitable C&C Group. This is an extremely premature decision. We will leave no stone unturned in an effort to keep jobs at Newbridge.”
C&C Group said that the transfer of its Newbridge distribution operation to Cambuslang is expected to be completed by the end of June 2024.
Pat Egan, Unite industrial officer, added: “This is devastating news for the workforce at Tennent’s Newbridge. The company promised that having a facility in Edinburgh was only the start of its expansion.
“The site has only been operating for a few years and it’s a cruel blow that 96 workers are facing redundancy. Unite is demanding urgent meetings with Tennent’s so that we can develop a strategy to save the plant.”
A spokesperson for C&C Group said: “The majority of colleagues impacted by this proposal are being offered alternative employment and a consultation process is currently underway as we seek to provide all necessary support and minimise any job losses.”
C&C Group recently delayed the release of its 2023/24 financial results, originally scheduled for 23 May. The company said the earnings will be delayed as additional time is needed to complete a review of certain non-cash accounting measurements relating to previous financial periods.
The Magners cider maker still reiterated its underlying operating profit guidance of circa €60m ($65m), alongside an intention to return €150m to shareholders over the next three years.
For the opening six months of the year, C&C Group returned an operating profit of €30.5m, down 42.8% on the previous year.
Net revenue fell 1.2% to €872.5m while adjusted EBITDA sank 33.5% to €45.9m as the company blamed the “one-off disruption of the ERP system implementation” in 2023.
The company has not yet confirmed a new date for its full-year results.
