The week in business: 28 October
Crelan cuts jobs, an alcohol-free Jupiler to hit the market and an overview of the rest of the week's business news
Banking – Crelan
Banking – ING
Most of the offices of Record Bank in Flanders, run by independent franchisees, will be turned into ING outlets, meaning that the region will see no loss of ING branches as a result of the cuts announced recently by the Dutch-owned bank. In fact, the region will see 16 new branches, bringing the total to 391, by 2019.
Brewing – Jupiler
Leuven-based AB InBev is replacing its alcohol-free N-A beer with a new recipe called Jupiler 0.0%. The move is part of the mega-brewer’s strategy to increase sales of low- and no-alcohol beers to 20% of its turnover by 2025.
Theme parks – Plopsa
Plopsa Group, the theme-park division of Flemish entertainment giant Studio 100, is building a new park in Poland, inside the Holiday Park Kownaty. There are already Plopsaland theme parks in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Aircraft – Bombardier
Unions representing workers at train and aircraft constructor Bombardier in Bruges said they had received “moderately positive signals” from management over job security in the coming years. The meeting followed news that the Canadian parent company wants to cut 7,500 jobs. Bruges unions were told their jobs were safe, however, since the plant had been heavily hit by a previous restructuring round.
Food – Tiense Suiker
Prime minister Charles Michel attended the opening of a new “sugar hub” last week at the Tiense Suiker refinery in Tienen, Flemish Brabant. The 60 metre-high building will house an industrial packaging and distribution facility and manufacturing infrastructure for speciality sugars. It represents an investment of €20 million.
