UK jobs safe for now as Heineken vows to slash office staff costs by a fifth

Heineken employees in the UK will not lose their jobs as part of a major cut to the company’s personnel costs, announced on Wednesday.

A spokesperson confirmed to the PA news agency that the cuts would not affect its British staff as it does not have an office here which will be impacted by the planned reductions.

However, the company is also reviewing all of its local operations, including those in the UK.

The company said it was being hit by fresh Covid-19 restrictions coming into force as more countries were exposed to a second wave.

It said that after promising not to make any structural lay-offs this year because of the pandemic, it will start reducing personnel costs by 20% in its offices from the start of next year.

The brewing giant employs 85,000 people around the world. Around 1,700 of these work in Heineken’s head office and regional offices, the spokesperson said. He declined to give a figure for how many jobs are likely to be cut in total.

“The situation remains highly volatile and uncertain. We expect rolling outbreaks of Covid-19 to continue to meaningfully impact many of our markets in addition to rising recessionary pressures,” chief executive Dolf van den Brink said.

“As we navigate the crisis, we are deliberately shaping how to adapt and emerge stronger from the pandemic. I am proud of the relentless drive of our employees and the agility they continue to demonstrate, taking care of one another, our customers, suppliers and communities.”

The company revealed it had seen some improvement recently, and that British drinkers consumed more than 10% more Heineken beer in the last three months than during the same period last year.

Sales of its eponymous drink had increased by 7.1% in the third quarter around the world, and reached double-digit growth in the UK, Brazil, China, the USA, Nigeria, Singapore, and Poland.

However, other beer brands that it owns performed less well, dropping in sales by 1.9% across the quarter, Heineken said.

Net profit hit 396 million euros (£357 million) in the first nine months of the year, down by more than three-quarters on last year.

The business started to recover from the depths of the crisis during the summer, but as it comes into the autumn and winter months, new waves and restrictions are expected to have consequences for the business.

It said that in Europe on-trade – the sales of alcohol in pubs and restaurants – has been more affected than off-trade.

Mr van den Brink said: “Our performance during the third quarter continued to be impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. As many lockdowns eased, our volumes improved sequentially compared to the last quarter.”