New Belgium cuts 28 jobs as craft-beer sales growth slows industry-wide
New Belgium Brewing confirmed Monday that it laid off 28 employees, most of whom worked out of the beer maker’s Fort Collins headquarters.
The cuts, made Friday, were partly due to a rapid expansion to Asheville, N.C. in 2013. In a statement, the company said “We expanded our staff to support a brewery about 40 percent larger than New Belgium is today, and we haven’t yet achieved our goals in the face of changing dynamics in craft brewing.”
While the maker of the popular Fat Tire brand shipped more beer in 2017 than the previous year, growth in craft beer sales has slowed, causing New Belgium to rejigger its goals. Industrywide, independent craft brewers continue to thrive nationwide but at a slower pace, according to a 2016 year-end report by the not-for-profit Brewers Association.
And the growth trend back in 2013 is not the same one as today, said Bryan Simpson, a spokesman for New Belgium.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.
Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.
Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.