Reports: AB InBev To Cut Jobs In U.S.

(RTTNews) - Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, known as AB InBev (BUD, AHBIF.PK) will cut jobs and consolidate its sales division in the U.S. following a detailed business review, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The job cuts will reportedly affect salaried employees in divisions including marketing and procurement as well as sales and brewery operations. However, the number of job cuts were not known. The company has about 15,000 employees in the U.S.

In late October, AB InBev reported a 5 percent increase in profit for the third quarter from last year, driven by growth in revenues. However, total volumes for the quarter declined 2.6 percent, with own beer volumes down 2.7 percent due to weakness in Russia and China.

During the quarter, the company's U.S. beer sales-to-wholesalers or STWs declined by 3.7 percent, while selling-day adjusted sales-to-retailers or STRs decreased by 1.9 percent.

The company's U.S. normalized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization or EBITDA declined 7.1 percent in the third quarter, driven by the difference between STWs and STRs, higher distribution expenses due to increased freight rates, and increased investment in its brands.

BUD closed Wednesday's trading at $112.20, up $0.73 or 0.65 percent on a volume of 1.22 million shares.