South African Breweries (SAB), the local arm of global brewing giant AB-InBev, is facing a formal complaint from the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) over job losses allegedly linked to the company’s 2016 merger with SAB-Miller.

The matter, currently before the Competition Commission and under the microscope of the Competition Tribunal, concerns the retrenchment of more than 500 union members since 2020.

SAB is planning to carry out a new round of retrenchments, a move that has further enraged FAWU, the largest trade union representing SAB workers.

FAWU claims the job cuts breach the conditions set by regulators when AB-InBev acquired SAB-Miller for $122bn, the largest beer industry deal in history.

A Merger With Long Shadows

At the heart of FAWU’s complaint is an approval condition that barred retrenchments at SAB for five years post-merger. According to FAWU general secretary Vuka Chonco, the job cuts accelerated under a “global strategy” dictated by AB-InBev’s head office. That strategy, he claims, has resulted in large-scale outsourcing and cost-cutting — leaving many union members unemployed or shifted to third-party service providers with worse conditions and less pay.

“In 2024 alone, more than 60 workers were retrenched, and we fear this is just the beginning,” Chonco said. “The South African labour market cannot absorb more job seekers, especially as economic growth remains sluggish and investment is low.”

Advocate Charl van Rooyen, principal legal counsel at the Competition Commission, confirmed receipt of the complaint and said the matter was still under investigation.

Since the beginning of the year, SAB employees have been on a knife-edge, fearing the brewer initiating more job losses. Their fears have come to pass.

SAB recently notified FAWU of its intention to begin a legal process to retrench 233 workers in its logistics division as part of an operational restructuring aimed at reducing duplication across the brewer’s national depot network.

Plans for initiating the retrenchment process were communicated to FAWU via a memorandum dated 29 May 2025.  The five-page letter, signed by Bathandwa Madela, SAB’s director of labour relations, was also sent to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which has been requested by SAB to appoint a facilitator to manage a Section 189 retrenchment consultation process, as required in terms of the Labour Relations Act (LRA).

“We intend to consult with you to discuss the proposed restructuring and its impact on the employees, including possible retrenchment, alternatives, selection criteria and the severance package, if the retrenchments cannot be avoided,” Madela wrote in the memo.

The retrenchments will affect workers across SAB’s 15 dry depots and seven wet site depots countrywide. These are critical logistics nodes responsible for transporting SAB’s vast portfolio of beer brands to retail outlets, taverns and hospitality venues nationwide.

Structural Realignment

According to SAB, its current logistics structure is no longer aligned with the company’s evolving operational requirements. The restructuring aims to eliminate role duplication and introduce new responsibilities that better support the company’s warehouse and stock control functions.

As part of the proposed operational changes, SAB plans to phase out positions such as checker operators and warehouse checkers, replacing them with a new role given the title, “warehouse leads”. These new roles will take on a broader scope, including administrative tasks and inventory oversight.

SAB, which currently employs about 5 400 people, said it planned to carry out the retrenchments from 1 August 2025, with affected employees expected to serve out their notice periods during the same month. But FAWU is unlikely to take the retrenchments lying down. It could go challenge the job cuts by either going to court or going on strike to force SAB to the negotiating table and delay the layoffs. In the midst of last year’s retrenchments, FAWU launched a blistering attack against SAB, accusing the company of appeasing its foreign owners, which the union described as “imperialist forces” hellbent on destroying “decent jobs”. 

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), of which FAWU is an affiliate member, also launched a broadside at SAB and its senior leadership, led by the brewer’s CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac.

SAFTU, the 21-member labour federation, issued a statement in June, lambasting SAB for implementing a post-merger business model that has led to annual workforce contraction, reversal of black economic empowerment commitments, and hiring of foreign senior executives at the expense of South Africans. 

“This is a textbook example of what happens when mergers are approved without stringent, enforceable public interest protections—and when profit takes precedence over people,” said SAFTU general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

Empowerment to Outsourcing

The workers are not the only casualties of SAB’s restructuring and aggressive cost-cutting. The brewer has also quietly ended its black economic empowerment (BEE) truck-owner scheme, once hailed as a model for inclusive capitalism. Launched in 1987, the programme supported former SAB workers who became contractors, delivering products to taverns, restaurants and retailers.

By 2022, 248 owner-drivers were listed under the scheme. Today, that number is zero. Contracts have been redirected to Brazilian logistics firms Fadel and Nepomuceno, companies alleged to have no empowerment credentials.

Critics of the scheme previously filed complaints with the BEE Commission, but these were never investigated because the deals weren’t registered and SAB didn’t claim BEE points for them. “We couldn’t act because it wasn’t officially reported,” said BEE Commission spokesperson Mofihli Teleki.

A Pattern of Legal Battles

SAB, which controls up to 90% of South Africa’s beer market, is no stranger to competition disputes. In 2015, it was brought before the Tribunal for allegedly colluding with liquor distributors, a case it ultimately won. In 2022, it unsuccessfully opposed Heineken’s takeover of Distell, arguing the deal would reduce competition in the cider market. That merger was approved in 2023, adding Hunter’s and Savanna to Heineken’s domestic stable.

Spotlight on 3G Capital

Attention is also turning to AB-InBev’s influential Brazilian shareholder, 3G Capital. The private equity firm, famous for backing brands like Budweiser and Burger King, is known for slashing costs to boost returns. Its legacy includes the controversial merger of Kraft and Heinz in 2015, where it cut 5 100 jobs and closed seven plants within months of the deal.

At Kraft Heinz, 3G’s obsession with margins led to massive R&D cuts, allowing competitors to surge ahead. By 2017, Kraft Heinz was spending just 0.36% of revenue on innovation, compared with Kellogg’s 1.15% and Unilever’s 1.68%.

Last year, 3G quietly exited Kraft Heinz, selling its 16.1% stake. The remaining burden of rebuilding the company now rests with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, its former co-owner.

A Reckoning Brewing at Home

As the Competition Commission investigates, the SAB case could become a test of how seriously SA enforces post-merger conditions and whether foreign multinationals are held accountable for long-term commitments made in exchange for local market dominance.

For now, FAWU is standing firm. “This isn’t just about retrenchments,” said Chonco. “It’s about the erosion of trust, accountability and fairness in our economy.”

At the time of going to print, SAB had not responded to questions sent to it by the writer regarding the complaint filed by FAWU with the Competition Commission.

Related Tags