AB InBev Expects To Cut 3% Of Jobs After SABMiller Merger

(RTTNews) - Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV or AB InBev (BUD, AHBIF.PK) expects to cut about 3 per cent of the total workforce of the combined Group after its takeover of SABMiller plc (SBMRY.PK, SAB.L).

The job reductions will be implemented gradually, in phases, over a three-year period following Completion, according to takeover documents published on Friday.

Several reports said that about 5,500 positions are likely to be eliminated.

The job cuts will form part of the $1.4 billion of annual savings that AB InBev has said it's seeking from the takeover, equivalent to almost a tenth of SABMiller's $15 billion in annual revenue.

AB InBev does not give any view on the impact of the Transaction on employment.

While the extent of any job reductions in all locations is not yet certain, AB InBev's stated intention that the Combined Group will be headquartered in Leuven and will retain AB InBev's Global Functional Management Office in New York will mean that the head office functions of AB InBev and SABMiller are integrated into AB InBev's headquarters and the Global Functional Management Office following Completion.

The integration is subject to consultation with the potentially affected SABMiller employees but is likely to involve the loss of roles at SABMiller's global headquarters in Woking in a short period following Completion.

Subject to consultation with affected employees, AB InBev expects the integration to include the closure of the SABMiller head office at One Stanhope Gate, London in the period of 12 months following Completion.