A CORNISH brewery has announced that it is closing its doors by the end of the year, costing workers their jobs.

Molson Coors Beverage Company (MCBC) has today [February 25] announced its proposal to close Sharp’s Brewery in Rock by the end of 2026, which the organisation reports could result in ‘around 50 redundancies at the site’.

The proposal, which is subject to consultation, takes place against an evolving market and category context and is part of broader proposals to reshape the UK&I business to unlock efficiencies and cost-savings to fuel the company’s long-term growth. In total, the proposals could result in around 200 redundancies from across the Molson Coors UK&I business.

Since acquiring the Sharp’s Brewery site in 2011, Molson Coors has invested more than £20-million in the brewery to expand capacity, upgrade equipment, support innovation and strengthen the Sharp’s portfolio, withe the organisation expressing that the proposal to close the brewery comes ‘only after exploring every alternative option to make the site financially sustainable in the long term’.

Simon Kerry, managing director, UK & Ireland at MCBC, said: “The proposed closure of Sharp’s Brewery has not been an easy decision for us to make. It has been a significant part of our UK business for 15 years, with an exceptional and committed team who take such huge pride in their craft.

“We have invested significantly in the site and the Sharp’s brands over that time and have taken every step we can to try and avoid this outcome. However, the site is no longer financially sustainable as part of our national production network.

“Our focus now is on supporting our Rock-based colleagues in every way we can throughout this process."

As the brewer consults on the proposals it says it ‘remains committed to the Sharp’s brands’. Molson Coors is in the process of exploring a number of alternative production routes, including the possibility of producing them in partnership.

However, despite this, some workers at the brewery have reported being informed about the closure via a “group text message’’, leaving employees ‘highly distressed due to a vague and very unprofessional’ nature of the communication.

Following the organisation’s actions, one employee who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It is very clear that supervisors and managers alike at the Rock location of Sharp’s Brewery were unaware of what was occurring but were required to organise a meeting at last minute very short notice but someone somewhere in Molson Coors must of made a decision that has significantly and negatively effected 100s of employees.

“It is my belief that your employees are human and not data points and that they should be treated as human beings with emotions and family’s and not treated as mere numbers or statistics, after all their livelihoods have now been obliterated after the initial insulting manner that the news and shock of a meeting was delivered via a vague text only a few hours prior.”

Molson Coors have been approached for further comments.