Latest news with #Labatt
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
They Live in a Hockey-Mad Nation. They Are Obsessed With an NBA Team 1,000 Miles Away.
When the Stanley Cup Finals begin on Wednesday night, fans across Canada will rally around the Edmonton Oilers as they try to become the first team from the country to win the trophy since 1993. Puckheads in the hockey-mad nation will gather in pubs, in houses and in public squares—wherever there's a TV showing the game and enough Labatt's to go around.
CBC
28-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
From Mill Street to Simcoe Street: Labatt shifts Toronto brewery's production to London
The label may say Mill Street Brewery, but soon the beer inside will be London-made. Labatt is moving the majority of the Mill Street Brewery's production out of Toronto, a two-hour drive to the company's main London brewery at Simcoe and Richmond streets, the Labatt Breweries of Canada confirmed Thursday. It's a major change for the brand, which has brewed in Toronto since its founding in 2002. It comes as a 10-year lease on Mill Street's North York facility expires with no plans to renew. Substantial increases to industrial lease rates are to blame, said Labatt spokesperson Hannah Love in a statement. Labatt purchased Mill Street in 2015. The move impacts 39 workers, who will be considered for open positions elsewhere in the company, Love said, adding no London jobs are impacted. Increased production in London is set to begin in April. "The majority will be produced in London, however, we will continue to brew in our brew pub in Toronto as well as other facilities in our brewing network in the GTA," she said. Asked if any Mill Street offerings would be impacted, she said it would continue to produce at the same volume, including small batch beers. Nearly 40 jobs impacted "We're sad about the news for the families and the folks that have lost their jobs," said David Bridger, president of SEIU Local 2, which represents unionized workers at the Labatt plant and other Canadian breweries. He said rumours of the move have swirled for weeks. "We know what our folks can do in the London brewery, they produce a quality product, so we expect the quality will remain the same. But it's bittersweet news," he said. The London brewery is Labatt's largest and oldest. Founded in 1847 by John Kinder Labatt, it makes roughly 40 per cent of the beer the company sells in Canada. That includes more than 50 brands owned by its Belgium-based parent, AB InBev, including Budweiser, Busch, Lowenbrau, Michelob Ultra, and Rolling Rock. The drinks giant has invested millions into the facility in recent years, including more than $26 million in 2023 to grow its capacity. The plant is already acquainted with Mill Street Organic, brewing some since 2016 in support of the Toronto plant, said Bridger. "They'll be able to take it on. It will mean increased work in the London plant, I don't know what that translates into as far as whether that means jobs ... but it's not an insubstantial amount of liquid." Steve Abrams, one of Mill Street's co-founders, said it was a "sad day" hearing about the news. Abrams left Mill Street in 2021 and later launched Harmon's, a non-alcoholic craft brewery. "I got kind of reflective thinking of 20-plus years ago," he said. "We built that place by hand." Mill Street began as a brew pub in Toronto's Distillery Historic District. It soon outgrew the space and moved to a larger facility in Scarborough in 2006, before moving again to North York in 2015. "I get it from a business perspective, but all those people that got laid off, it breaks my heart," Abrams said. "I'm sure they're doing everything they can to ... keep them." He added that with talented brewers, great beer can be replicated and made anywhere. "I'm sure we're still in good hands. I say we, I mean the legacy, not me." It's a tough time in Canada's craft beer industry, which has seen breweries close or acquired amid a tough economy and changing consumer preferences, said Jason Foster, an Alberta-based beer expert. People are drinking less or favouring ready-to-drink options, as inflationary pressures are also pushing consumers toward cheaper beer, and hitting brewer balance books. The number of Canadian breweries exploded during a 2010s craft beer boom, jumping from 210 in 2010 to nearly 1,200 in 2020, Beer Canada says. As drinkers turned to craft beer, larger breweries spent millions acquiring smaller ones, a trend Foster says is now in reverse. Both AB InBev and Molson Coors have sold off a dozen craft beer brands in recent years. Some major players have entered the ready-to-drink space, Labatt among them. It makes the American Vintage, Mike's, and Palm Bay brands in London.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Genesee Brewery unveils new $28 million canning line
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)—On Thursday, Genesee Brewery unveiled its new canning line, the largest part of a $50 million investment in the facility from its parent company, FifCo. The line is $28 million, and 10 of the nearly 60 jobs created by the investment directly work on the new line. The addition gives Genesee over 15 million cases in additional production, at the clip of 1,500 cans a minute. Labatt, Genesee, Seagrams, Lipton Hard Iced Tea, and other contract jobs will be canned here, at varying can sizes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opening interprovincial alcohol trade could be 'disastrous' for 2 N.L. breweries, unions warn
Union representatives are worried about two major breweries in St. John's if the province joins on with the rest of the country to limit trade barriers on alcohol. (CBC News) Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province not participating in a national deal to allow alcohol to flow more freely across the country — and the unions representing workers at two St. John's breweries say protecting jobs needs to be the priority. The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE) represents about 60 employees at the Labatt-owned brewery in St. John's. NAPE president Jerry Earle says he's worried that reducing interprovincial trade rules could mean Labatt and Molson Coors would close their breweries in the city. "They can probably reduce their production cost, throw Newfoundlanders and Labradorians out of work, produce beer in southern Ontario and ship it in on a container vessel or on a truck. Sure, they would love it," Earle said in an interview with CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. Last week, Finance Minister Siobhan Coady told reporters that the provincial government is monitoring the deal between the other provinces, and trying to avoid any "unintended consequences" for Newfoundland and Labrador employees. She specifically referenced the breweries owned by Molson Coors and Labatt. The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) requires beer sold in convenience stores to be brewed within the province — meaning Labatt and Molson Coors have access to that market as long as their breweries stay open. Earle and James Farrell, industrial director at FFAW-Unifor, which represents over 50 employees at the Molson Coors brewery in St. John's, are concerned about the potential elimination of that rule — and the resulting fallout. James Farrell is the industrial director at FFAW-Unifor, which represents over 50 employees at the Molson Coors brewery in St. John's. (Darrell Roberts/CBC) Farrell says he's worried that reducing barriers could mean the local market would become flooded with beer brewed outside the province, and Molson Coors, a multinational company, would no longer have a strong incentive to operate a plant within the province "It'd be detrimental, disastrous, to the local brewing industry in the province," he said. Brewery closures 'not on the table,' says Beer Canada CBC News asked both Labatt and Molson Coors for comment. Labatt has not responded, but Molson Coors referred the request to Beer Canada, a lobbying firm representing some of the biggest breweries across the country — including Molson Coors and Labatt. The organization also represents Quidi Vidi Brewery. CJ Hélie, president of the trade association Beer Canada, says companies are always looking at ways to run more efficiently, but the current discussion around interprovincial trade does not include closing plants in Newfoundland and Labrador. Peter Madden, co-owner of Wooden Walls Distilling, says reducing interprovincial trade obstacles could give his business more access to the market. (Darrell Roberts/CBC) "That's not on the table at the moment," he said. "What they're really talking about is this very limited direct-to-consumer opportunity." Direct-to-consumer sales would allow consumers in one province to buy alcohol directly from a producer in another province. Peter Madden, co-owner of Wooden Walls Distilling in St. John's, says he'd welcome changes that would make it easier for his business to enter new markets. "That would probably be the best outcome, right? That we do remove all interprovincial trade barriers, but we sort of continue with this momentum we have of, like, supporting local and supporting Canadian sort of secondarily," he said. In a statement, NLC spokesperson Tara Haley said the company is monitoring plans in other provinces for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales. Meanwhile, she said the sale of products within Newfoundland and Labrador — including in convenience stores — is part of a bigger discussion. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
13-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Opening interprovincial alcohol trade could be 'disastrous' for 2 N.L. breweries, unions warn
Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province not participating in a national deal to allow alcohol to flow more freely across the country — and the unions representing workers at two St. John's breweries say protecting jobs needs to be the priority. The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE) represents about 60 employees at the Labatt-owned brewery in St. John's. NAPE president Jerry Earle says he's worried that reducing interprovincial trade rules could mean Labatt and Molson Coors would close their breweries in the city. "They can probably reduce their production cost, throw Newfoundlanders and Labradorians out of work, produce beer in southern Ontario and ship it in on a container vessel or on a truck. Sure, they would love it," Earle said in an interview with CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. Last week, Finance Minister Siobhan Coady told reporters that the provincial government is monitoring the deal between the other provinces, and trying to avoid any "unintended consequences" for Newfoundland and Labrador employees. She specifically referenced the breweries owned by Molson Coors and Labatt. The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) requires beer sold in convenience stores to be brewed within the province — meaning Labatt and Molson Coors have access to that market as long as their breweries stay open. Earle and James Farrell, industrial director at FFAW-Unifor, which represents over 50 employees at the Molson Coors brewery in St. John's, are concerned about the potential elimination of that rule — and the resulting fallout. Farrell says he's worried that reducing barriers could mean the local market would become flooded with beer brewed outside the province, and Molson Coors, a multinational company, would no longer have a strong incentive to operate a plant within the province "It'd be detrimental, disastrous, to the local brewing industry in the province," he said. Brewery closures 'not on the table,' says Beer Canada CBC News asked both Labatt and Molson Coors for comment. Labatt has not responded, but Molson Coors referred the request to Beer Canada, a lobbying firm representing some of the biggest breweries across the country — including Molson Coors and Labatt. The organization also represents Quidi Vidi Brewery. CJ Hélie, president of the trade association Beer Canada, says companies are always looking at ways to run more efficiently, but the current discussion around interprovincial trade does not include closing plants in Newfoundland and Labrador. "That's not on the table at the moment," he said. "What they're really talking about is this very limited direct-to-consumer opportunity." Direct-to-consumer sales would allow consumers in one province to buy alcohol directly from a producer in another province. Peter Madden, co-owner of Wooden Walls Distilling in St. John's, says he'd welcome changes that would make it easier for his business to enter new markets. "That would probably be the best outcome, right? That we do remove all interprovincial trade barriers, but we sort of continue with this momentum we have of, like, supporting local and supporting Canadian sort of secondarily," he said. In a statement, NLC spokesperson Tara Haley said the company is monitoring plans in other provinces for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales. Meanwhile, she said the sale of products within Newfoundland and Labrador — including in convenience stores — is part of a bigger discussion.
