Heineken closes Louny brewery

Heineken said that the outdated technical state of the plant, high investments needed to meet safety and quality standards and the decline in production volume have led to this decision.

Due to the economic crisis, Czech beer consumption has dropped. The recent sharp increase in excise duty on beer will further accelerate this trend.

Production will be transferred from Louny to Velké Brezno and Krásné Březno (Usti Nad Labem). The brewery itself will be turned into a distribution centre.

Heineken reported that a number of positions in other production sites (altogether 13) will be offered to the Louny brewery employees.

In spite of that, 29 employees have been made redundant at the end of January. In the following months the workforce will gradually be further reduced by another 30 people.