Jobs lost as brewery closes

Bass and Tennent's Lager are brewed and kegged at the plant

A west Belfast brewery is to close with the loss of 85 jobs, it has been announced.

The owners of the Bass Ireland Ulster Brewery said it had failed to find a buyer for its manufacturing facility.

In a statement on Tuesday, Interbrew UK said it had been seeking a purchaser after a long-term contract to bottle soft drinks at the plant ended.

The closure in January will bring 107 years of brewing at the Glen Road site to an end.

The biggest private employer in an area of high unemployment, the factory was also one of the few workplaces where Catholics and Protestants worked side by side throughout the Troubles.

Other operations on the site, which employs 200 people in areas such as distribution and customer services, and a sales and distribution depot in Omagh, County Tyrone, will not be affected.

Brian Houston, of Bass Ireland, says it is a sad day.

"The business plans that we looked at, along with our insistence that the terms and conditions for our employees be transferred over, just made the whole operation unviable in our opinion," he said.

We believe that this decision fails the needs of the community and the workforce Gerry Adams Sinn Fein leader

"No purchaser has emerged, regrettably, so we have had to announce the closure of manufacturing as from December."

David Randall, Interbrew UK supply chain director said the conclusion of the bottling contract had resulted in increased costs.

He added that this, along with a general overcapacity within the industry, "meant that a viable manufacturing operation would no longer be sustainable".

The company says it hopes to offer redeployment to about 20 of the workers losing their jobs.

Northern Ireland Office minister Barry Gardiner said he was disappointed at the decision.

Mr Gardiner, who has responsibility for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, said Invest Northern Ireland were continuing to discuss the situation with Interbrew and Bass Ireland to attempt to minimise the impact the decision will have for the workers and the economy.

Sinn Fein President and West Belfast MP Gerry Adams was also disappointed by the decision.

"We believe that this decision fails the needs of the community and the workforce," he said.

'Tragic blow'

"This is a viable business with a highly skilled workforce which produces a quality product. It is one of the largest private sector employers in the area and as such acts as a flagship for other investors."

He added that his party would continue to meet with management and the unions to ensure workers were redeployed and acceptable redundancy packages were agreed.

SDLP assembly member Alex Attwood said the decision was a tragic blow to the local community.

"I plan to meet with the management in the near future," he said.

"I have also written to the Economy Minister, Barry Gardiner, stating that proposals of various west Belfast task forces are put in jeopardy by job losses.

"I have also told the minister that this is the time and Bass Ireland is the case where government assistance should be made available to protect existing jobs."

The brewery was founded in 1897 and brews and kegs Bass and Tennent's Lager, and kegs Stella Artois.