UPDATE: Heineken to close production in Russia’s Kaliningrad from 2017

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ST. PETERSBURG, Oct 5 (PRIME) -- Heineken United Breweries will suspend production at PIT Company, its affiliate in the Russian city of Kaliningrad, from January 1, 2017 to maintain efficiency, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

PIT Company’s production will be redistributed among other Heineken companies, but some of its area will be used as storage. “The company has made the decision after a thorough analysis of the market situation and of all possible options to maintain efficiency of its operation in Russia,” it said.

Heineken will lay off about 70 employees of PIT Company in accordance with Russian legislation, the company added.

A Heineken United Breweries representative told PRIME the company does not plan to suspend production in other Russian regions.

“We are paying close attention to the situation and are regularly appraise the efficiency of our breweries to decide on future of every one of them. But we hope that no new steps will be made in toughening regulatory control in the coming years, the economy starts growing and our industry will develop normally,” the person said.

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