ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -- It was one year ago today the $52-billion merger of Anheuser-Busch and InBev became official.
"It just feels great to be here now and look at this combined company. There are so many things we can do." So said Carlos Brito, the CEO of then-newly chrsitened AB InBev, on Nov. 18, 2008. But how has Brito's vision, "to become the best beer company in a better world," impacted St. Louis?
In addition to being a blow to the region's ego, and reducing the brewery's community involvement, InBev's buyout of A-B it's cost about 2300 local jobs. And Marketwatch Adult Industry/Beverage Reporter William Spain says it's changed the environment for those who survived the cuts. "Because of the way InBev does business, relentless 'cost, cost, cost, sales, sales, sales,'" Spain said. "It's probably not a pleasant a place to work as it once was."
While the company just reported a $1.5 billion dollar third quarter profit despite lower revenue, Spain says Wall Street is still leary of the big brewer's prospects. "I think they are sitting on the sidelines, for the most part," Spain says. "They will have to see what happens with the overall economy and how InBev handles its enormous debt."
The company in the last year moved to sell $7 billion in assets to help pay down the $45 billion in debt in took on to buy Anheuser. Spain says the company's prospects for growth are very good, but he doesn't see more jobs returning to St. Louis. And while Brito has promised to keep the North American headquarters in St. Louis, Spain says nothing is set in stone. "You have a good labor pool, it's a much cheaper place to live and do business than New York or certainly any of the European capitals," explained Spain. "I can't see them moving out tomorrow, but I can see them slowly diminishing their presence over the years."
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