Heineken shutters Quang Nam plant as beer consumption plummets

The Dutch company said: "We will stop all activities at the factory and seek entities capable of purchasing its assets. We have no intention of resuming any operations at the Quang Nam plant in the future."

Some of the plant’s employees would be hired to work at other Heineken Vietnam plants, and the rest would be provided with other compensation, such as better severance pay than contracted, it said.

It said the closure was due to the decline in beer consumption following the Covid-19 pandemic and the government's zero tolerance for drunk driving in recent years.

Last year beer sales fell by 11% and the industry’s profits by 23%, according to the Vietnam Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Association.

Heineken said to adapt to the changed situation and continue to grow in Vietnam, it needs to streamline and optimize its operations.

The Quang Nam plant, opened in 2007, was the smallest of Heineken’s six breweries in Vietnam.

Last quarter its tax payment was a mere VND20 billion (US$785,500) as against VND250-300 billion annually in the pre-Covid era.

Heineken has invested 1 billion euros (US$1.07 billion) in Vietnam and created nearly 250,000 jobs.