Well the Miller ads haven't started airing yet (think red white and blue bikinis), but we didn't have to wait long for some major handwringing! CNN has the story: "Foreign-owned Bud a wound to Americana":
"I was actually drinking a Bud Light when I heard, and I couldn't even finish it. That's the honest-to-God truth," [St. Louisan and former Bud Light drinker Philip McClary] said Monday.
I believe him!
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Many commentators point to the fact that Anheuser-Busch was founded by a German man, that the beer tastes "watered-down," or that the symbolism in the marketing was just marketing as reasons why they don't care about this issue. They fail to see the greater problem: an American product is now owned and controlled by a foreign company and any people who are fired from this will be American workers. Budweiser employees and their families are sweating bullets right now because their futures are cloudy with a chance of rain. Inbev has a record of slimming down their production to maximize profits. Budweiser may have had very patriotic symbolism which helped beer sales but they gave back to the community.
It's not at all clear that all or even the majority of the expected headcount reductions will be in the US. There's probably more "redundancies" in BUD's European operations, InBev already being pretty well staffed over there.
But basically companies are supposed to find ways to become more efficient. It's what they do, especially when times are tough, as they are for the beer industry right now with the rising costs of grain, aluminum, and transportation.
Consolidation makes sense, and the fact that the consolidator happens to be European doesn't make much difference to me. They still are going to pay Americans to brew and truck the stuff in the U.S., because it's not cost effective to export it on ships. And they'll probably still pay American ad agencies to market it.
It's no big deal. Really.
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