AB-InBev will close three US breweries, affecting 475 full-time jobs

USA | With US beer production in decline, it was inevitable: On 11 December, AB-InBev announced it is looking to shake up its brewery business for 2026 with the sale of one of its oldest breweries and the closure of two more. The company's Newark, New Jersey, brewery, which has been in operation since 1951, is going to be sold to property development firm Goodman Group. Breweries that are located in Fairfield, California, and Merrimack, New Hampshire, will close permanently. Production will be shifted to the firm’s nine remaining major breweries.

The move will eliminate massive overcapacities and affect 475 full-time employees, the majority of whom (some 240) work at the Fairfield site in the San Francisco Bay area. The consequences of the closures will be far-reaching.

In a Facebook post, Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy called the loss of the facility, which was opened in 1976, “staggering”. According to the city’s workforce development board, which Ms Moy cited in her post, the annual tax losses will be USD 10.7 million for the town, USD 8.9 million for California and USD 3.3 million for the federal government.

Who can afford to move?

AB-InBev said it will offer affected workers roles at other facilities. The closest brewery still in operation to the Newark and Merrimack locations is Baldwinsville, New York, more than 200 miles away from each. The nearest brewery to the Fairfield location is in Los Angeles, roughly 400 miles away. Employees will receive relocation stipends and those who choose to not move will receive a severance package.

The US beer business has seen a steep decline over the past four years. According to Beer Marketer’s Insights, a trade publication, beer shipments have dropped by nearly 30 million barrels or 35 million hl (until end of September) from 2021. AB-InBev’s market share in the US is estimated at 33 percent, down from 49 percent in 2008 – the year it acquired Anheuser-Busch.