“We have no interest in selling Diekirch” is what AB InBev declared this morning during an informal meeting with the unions. “It's what we were expecting” Romain Daubenfeld of the OGBL union told News352 in a phone interview this morning.

Bofferding will tango alone!

At the end of the meeting between AB InBev and the unions this morning, it was made clear that Diekirch was not for sale.

“We didn't have much hope” is what Romain Daubenfeld told News352. “You buy a small brewery, you squeeze it like a lemon and you throw it away like a tissue. That's what it's like for AB InBev”, the unionist declared. He is convinced that the 2009 figures for the brewery are excellent although they will not be available before March.

What will happen to the 63 employees of the Luxembourg site?

“I think we will have to negociate a redundancy plan. And when AB InBev will realise the Diekirch consumption is decreasing, there will be another redundancy plan for the survivors” Romain Daubenfeld concluded.

Juncker makes Diekirch a national concern

Diekirch is a main concern for Luxembourg's government. On Friday, after the governement meeting, Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, declared he would do anything possible to save the Diekirch brewery from relocation. “Our heritage is being shattered”, Juncker added. So as not to jeopardise negociations, Juncker did not give any details about potential government measures.

Why so many efforts for Diekirch?

This is not the 1st time a traditional company is threatened in the Grand-Duchy. Everybody remembers Villeroy and Boch that did not receive as much support from the government. When Juncker was questioned about the issue, he answered that it was unfortunately not always possible to intervene.