Moosehead Breweries lays off admin staff

Moosehead Breweries is laying off administrative staff at its head office in Saint John, but it’s unclear how many people will lose their jobs.

In an email sent to employees, Moosehead said there have been "major changes" in a contract with a "large, international brewer."

The company said the economic climate and strong Canadian dollar means that the contract may not be renewed, or revenue will be significantly reduced.

This comes just two months after the brewery announced a $20-million expansion plan, adding onto its main bottling line to include new labelers, as well as more modern equipment for packing, inspecting and moving products.

Administrative employees are not unionized, but Jeff Stoddard, president of the Brewer Workers Union Local 362 representing Moosehead workers, said his members are bracing for the worst.

"It will certainly have an impact, not only on the staff who may lose their jobs in their near coming future, but I think it will go much deeper than that if we lose this contract completely," he said Friday.

Stoddard expects Moosehead will have more details next week.

In March, unionized employees voted to ratify a new collective agreement, ending a five-week labour dispute.

The new seven-year contract kept health benefits in place for all retired workers — the issue that was at the heart of the lockout.

It also introduced a retirement savings plan with mandatory joint employee and employer contributions for all employees. Workers also received a modest wage increase of about one per cent per year.