Carlsberg is committed to Holsten

Will they stay or will they leave – Carlsberg’s German employees have wondered. After a series of brewery sales in recent years, which have shrunk Carlsberg’s German unit to merely two production sites, many wondered if Carlsberg was still interested in keeping a presence in Germany. Following a review of its business, Carlsberg announced on 21 September 2011 that they would invest more than EUR 40 million in Germany – especially in its Hamburg Holsten brewery. Hamburg’s mayor, Olaf Scholz, who had travelled to Copenhagen to talk to Carlsberg’s top brass, is pleased that a total of 700 jobs have been saved.

Rumour has had it for a while (BRAUWELT International reported) that the Danish brewer wants to sell its business in Germany, which would have meant putting the Hamburg brewery and its brands Holsten and Astra on the block.

Now the world’s number four brewing group has clearly rejected such speculation. The company will invest more than EUR 40 million in its two remaining sites, Hamburg and Lübz.

As part of a comprehensive five-year plan, both the Holsten brewery and the Lübz brewery in north-eastern Germany will be modernized and upgraded.

While the investment programme creates no new jobs, there will not be any lay-offs either.

Carlsberg Germany is facing a tough business environment. The German beer market has been declining for decades. Consumption is expected to go down by another 3 percent this year.