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The Heineken group announced on Monday, November 14, the closure of its historic brewery in Schiltigheim, in Bas-Rhin. The employees are in shock, while the town hall intends to fight to save the factory.
The tower of the Heineken brewery in Schiltigheim (Bas-Rhin) dominates the landscape and is almost an emblem of the city. However, the group announced its closure within three years, Monday, November 14. “We all took a slap, and again, it’s hard to realize“, says an employee. 400,000 liters of beer are brewed in the factory every day, a production transferred to the factories of Mons-en-Barœul (North) and Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) where some employees could be relocated.
“They want to close theHopecapital of beer in Alsace, the first site to have brewed Heineken. Strategically it doesn’t make sense”, says Vania Brouillard, FO union representative. With 160 years of existence, the factory was a symbol, the last still in operation in a capital of beer which saw its breweries close one by one. Its activity is too expensive according to the management of Heineken, in particular with the soaring price of energy and cereals and too restrictive with a factory in the city center. “This story must continue one way or another. It’s a chance to have economic activity in the city center”explains Danielle Dambach, Mayor of Schiltigheim.