Heineken HR boss says the company’s decision to cut jobs was not taken lightly.
The South African arm of Heineken will cut 70 jobs due to the substantial loss of sales caused by the bans on alcohol and Covid-19 trading restrictions. Heineken employs just under 1,000 full-time employees in South Africa.
“Prior to considering this action, the company implemented various cost mitigation measures throughout 2020,” Heineken South Africa human resources director Yvonne Mosadi said. “Unfortunately, given the ongoing challenging situation the company finds itself in, these measures are no longer adequate to manage and sustain the operating costs of the business.”
Since lockdowns started at the end of March 2020, more than 165,000 people in the industry have lost their jobs.
About 30 percent of local breweries have permanently gone out of business and some, including Heineken, have stopped planned investments. Following the second alcohol ban, the company halted plans to build a R6 billion ($403 million) brewery in KwaZulu-Natal.
Heineken, which also brews Windhoek and Amstel beer said it will continue to review its cost and organisational structure to ensure that it is fit for the future needs of the business.
South Africa has banned alcohol sales for the third time as part of efforts to reduce the number of alcohol-related trauma cases and reduce the burden on hospitals so they can cope with the influx of Covid-19 patients.
