France: Heineken France may cut jobs

Heineken may cut some 204 jobs at its unit in France, local media posted. No other details were revealed.

French beer market has suffered an acceleration of its falling since the beginning of the year with 8% decrease of beer sales volumes following the 6% decline registered already in 2004. The figures were disclosed by Didier Debrosse, the chairman of Heineken France, at a press conference on May 3.

In the last 4 years the volumes of beer consumed in France fell by 1.5 million hl to 19 million hl, he said. According to Didier Debrosse, the decline has a structural character: on the one hand beer sales suffer from the general shift of the market from alcoholic drinks to soft beverages, on the other hand strong reduction of the number of cafés-hotel-restaurants (CHR), where 30% of volumes of beer is sold.

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