Hostage Crisis As Top Brewer Axes Jobs

The world's biggest brewer - maker of Stella and Becks - is slashing a tenth of its workforce - prompting workers to take their bosses hostage.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, who also make Budweiser, Boddingtons, Cobra and Michelob, is expecting to cut 800 of its 8,000 workforce in Europe.

The company employs around 1,300 people in the UK though it was not immediately clear how many of those jobs were under threat.

The decision triggered severe fall-out among workers.

Hardliners at an AB InBev brewery in eastern Belgium took about 10 of their bosses hostage after the layoffs were announced internally.

Union rep Denis Gobert said managers at the Jupiler plant had now been released.

Around 40 lorries were also blocked from operating at another Belgian plant where Stella Artois beer is brewed.

Karen Couck, from Anheuser, told Sky News Online: "In many countries there's a common challenge of the decline in the beer market.

"There is a generally declining trend in consumption across Europe."

She added: "It is planned, especially in Belgium, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, that staff numbers will be broadly reduced by 10 percent."

Ms Couck said the plans have been communicated to staff represenatatives.

The UK headquarters is in Luton.

now there is a way of making people sit up and take notice...what do the irish do?....go and whinge and whine with their mates/colleagues, but when a protest is organised for their particular gripe, they leave it to others to protest. rant over

well said wheelo