Brewer cuts 170 jobs

Jobs will go at the brewing operation in Edinburgh

Brewing and pub group Scottish Courage is cutting 170 jobs at its Fountainbridge plant in Edinburgh.

The bottling and canning operation at the site will be closed over the next 18 months but brewing will receive extra investment, the company said.

The 27-year-old brewery, which produces more than one million barrels of beer each year, will receive an £8m investment, targeted at modernising brewing infrastructure and technology to package kegs.

The slimmed down plant, home to the McEwans and Miller brands, will employ about 100 staff.

Scottish Courage, which is the brewing division of Scottish and Newcastle, said the redundancies would guarantee a "viable future" for the brewery.

The company promised more investment

The company said it would be focusing its bottling and canning operations at other sites across Britain because they are closer to its biggest market.

The redundancies come a month after Scottish Courage announced the loss of 1,300 jobs in a reorganisation of the business, that will see the sale or transfer to lease of 920 of its managed pubs.

Scottish and Newcastle estimates that the reorganisation could cost about £116m in exceptional costs, but believes that it could generate yearly savings of £46m.

Reaped profits

Scottish and Newcastle is Britain's biggest brewer, boasting high-profile brand names such as John Smith's, Courage and Newcastle Brown Ale.

It also has a strong base in France and Belgium, employing a total of 52,000 staff.

And its UK retail arm boasts 2,800 outlets spanning restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels and nightclubs.

Scottish and Newcastle reaped profits of £408.6m in 2000, a similar level to profits posted the previous year.

The company has 62,000 shareholders, about 19,500 of whom are Scottish and Newcastle employees.