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170 jobs go in brewery closure plan
5 Nov 2008- No movement in independence talks
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Drinks giant Carlsberg is planning to close a historic brewery in the UK with the loss of 170 jobs.
The company blamed falling consumption, higher duties and regulatory pressure for the decision to shut its Leeds site in 2011.
Consultation with the workers will start immediately and Carlsberg said it will seek to redeploy staff where possible as well as help others find new jobs.
There has been a brewery on the site in the city since 1822 when it used to produce just Tetley beers.
The brewery now produces Tetley and Carlsberg and is one of two owned by Carlsberg. The other site is at Northampton.
Nick Webb, supply chain director of Carlsberg UK, said: "We are announcing the closure proposal more than two years in advance so that our employees are able to prepare for the future.
"We have to consider difficult decisions to remain competitive in the current environment and we regret the risk to the jobs of our employees.
"Although the business has remained robust in tough market conditions, this proposed move is vital to ensure Carlsberg UK remains a strong and sustainable business in the future."
The company said it needed to maximise efficiency to remain competitive in the face of increasingly challenging market conditions, adding: "Unfortunately, in this environment it can no longer justify running two major breweries in the UK."
Reader views (4)
You know who the REAL anti-social people are, Anglo?
They are the people like yourself, who act so high and mighty, as if they do not drive cars, or fly in planes, or work with chemicals, all of which cause many, many more deaths than smoking ever could.
Who do people like this thank they are, that they can dictate to possibly one third of the population of this country?
There was only ever one group who acted like this, and they were the very people who started smoking bans. You don't know who they are? Well I'll tell you, they were the Nazis in 1930s Germany.
- Peter Thurgood, London, UK, 05/11/2008 15:35
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Peter, no can do as smokomg ban was an EU diktat. I have been to Barcelona, Salzburg and Canary Isles recently and they all smoke in bars/restaurants as they had a choice. We just bent over and said thank you.
- Grim Reaper, Hell, 05/11/2008 13:14
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It is a pity to see the job losses, but, let's face it. We booze too much in the UK. As for smokers, I am fed up with dodging through huddled crowds of addicts causing outdoor pollution outside shopping malls, pubs and offices.
Smokers really ought to grow up and kick their habit - it is anti-social.
- Anglo, Sussex UK, 05/11/2008 13:12
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170 jobs lost, is just the tip of the iceberg. Pubs, restaurants, and clubs, are closing on a daily basis. And all with the help of our short sighted Government.
They bring in a smoking ban, which forces people to be herded like animals, outside in the cold and rain, and then don't seem to understand why people are deserting the pubs.
I'm afraid there are going to be many moor closures and losses of jobs until our Government gets it through their skulls that smokers are human beings too, and have rights, the same as everyone else.
No one is asking non smokers to breath in other people's smoke. Just give everyone a choice of where they wish to go, smoking and non smoking.
When this is done, we can start rebuilding our leisure industry again.
- Peter Thurgood, London, UK, 05/11/2008 09:24
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