Molson Coors has announced plans to close a brewery in Irwindale, Calif., with a loss of about 470 jobs.
Last year the brewery produced 4.8 million barrels under brands including Miller Lite, Coors Light, Miller High Life, MGD, Steel Reserve and Miller 64. It also brewed beer on a contract basis for Pabst Brewing Co., which has an option to buy the Irwindale facility.
The closing is part of a general retrenchment for Molson Coors, which saw sales decline 3.2% for the three months ending Sept. 30 (the most recent available). The company recently moved its world headquarters from Denver to the Chicago offices of MillerCoors, its U.S. branch.
“This move will allow us to optimize our brewery footprint while streamlining our operations for greater efficiency across the network,” Brian Erhardt, chief integrated supply chain officer, said in a statement. “While it was a very difficult decision, we have extra capacity in our system and Irwindale’s production can be absorbed by other breweries in our network.”
