Interbrew relents; will keep Boddington's open - Brief Article

Modern Brewery Age, Nov 11, 2002

Brewery workers at the Boddington's Brewery in Manchester, England have been told their jobs are safe, following a campaign to save the brewery by workers and the media.

Interbrew, the owners of Boddingtons, had planned to transfer production of the famous Manchester beer to breweries in Preston and South Wales. This means that "Boddies" will remain a beer brewed in Manchester, as it has been since 1778, and the workforce will not be cut from 107 to under 40 as Interbrew had intended.

The decision was announced by Interbrew and the workforce's union the Transport and General Workers' Union (T and G) after almost five hours of talks today. It followed a campaign by the Manchester Evening News to keep the beer in the city.

Interbrew had hoped to save $12-$15 million over the next three years by transferring most production out of Manchester.

But Interbrew has agreed to keep all "Boddies" production at the famous Strangeways brewery. There will be no compulsory retirements, the company said, although some staff will have to transfer to other Interbrew plants.

T & G union officer Franny Joyce said: "We campaigned with the MEN to keep production of Boddies in Manchester and that is what we have done. It is good news for Boddies and Manchester."