Carlsberg is planning to shut two of its 10 breweries in Russia due to economic crisis and stringent market regulation, which have hit sales in the country.
The closure of Baltika-Chelyabinsk in Chelyabinsk and Baltika-Pikra in Krasnoyarsk is anticipated to reduce capacity by 15% in the country.
This will affect close to 600 employees. However, the closure will not have impact on 2014 operating profit or adjusted net result, the company said.
Commenting on the closure, Carlsberg's Russian unit Baltika was quoted by Reuters as saying: "In the conditions of the continuing fall in the beer market, related to the difficult macroeconomic environment and unbalanced regulation and taxation, the company has decided to terminate activity of units in Chelyabinsk and Krasnoyarsk."
Carlsberg claims that the sales and distribution organisations will be maintained in the two cities but supplies will be sourced from its remaining eight breweries in Russia.
As reported in Reuters, Carlsberg has been compelled to operate most of its Russian operations at reduced capacity for many months and began idling plants in 2014.
Image: Baltika bottling line. Photo: Courtesy of Carlsberg.
