Ambev Closes the Minas Brewery After Ninety Years in Uruguay

Ambev, the Latin American arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev, has announced the closure of the Minas brewery in Uruguay after ninety years of operation. The plant, located in Minas, Lavalleja department, first opened in 1936 and was originally known as the Serrana brewery. It later changed its name to Patricia in 1956, a name that remains associated with the beer produced there.

The company cited a general review of its business, competition from imported canned beer, and high production costs as the primary reasons for the closure. Uruguay is an expensive place to manufacture, and Ambev's Montevideo plant is receiving US$14 million in investment, which will absorb the volume previously produced at Minas.

Before the closure, the plant was already shut once and reopened with reduced staff following a labor dispute. This history of turnover likely influences the local reaction to the announcement, as several Uruguayan outlets described the company as closing the plant again. However, the union remains cautious and does not treat the declaration as final.

Ambev plans to relocate production to its Montevideo plant, which is currently undergoing a US$14 million investment. The Minas plant had already been closed once before, reopening with fewer workers after settling a labor dispute with the Ministry of Labor. This precedent explains both the local reaction and why the union is not treating the announcement as definitive.

President Yamandu Orsi of Uruguay stated that the decision was actually made in 2024 and then postponed. The Uruguayan government, along with the Lavalleja local government, is in contact with Ambev to discuss securing the best outcome for the 59 workers who will be placed on the state unemployment insurance. Opposition deputy Adriana Pena criticized the government for not doing enough to keep the production outside Montevideo, a city where Uruguay has long sought to prevent industrial expansion.