Brewer AB Inbev to Cut 5,500 Jobs after SABMiller Merger

The world’s top brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev will cut around 5,500 jobs after it completes its huge merger with rival SABMiller, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP on Friday.

Investor documents posted online Friday said the Belgium-based brewer of Budweiser and Stella Artois would slash about three percent of its enlarged staff over three years following the tie-up.

SABMiller employs about 70,000 employees in more than 80 countries, while AB Inbev has about 150,000 staff in 26 countries, according to company figures.

AB InBev is already the world’s top brewer and the SABMiller acquisition is in line to be the third largest merger in history if it goes through.

AB InBev last month raised its offer for SABMiller to £45 a share, after sterling slumped following Britain’s Brexit vote to leave the EU, cutting the value of the deal to global investors when measured in other currencies and triggering shareholder resistance.

The new offer values the London-headquartered firm at about £79 billion ($104 billion), and the deal is expected to boost the unified firms’ prospects in developing markets in Africa and China.