Anheuser-Busch’s botched promotion featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has led to the closure of two glass bottling plants operated by Ardagh Group, a global glass producer and contractor for the company. As Bud Light continues to face significant financial losses and declining sales, approximately 645 employees will be laid off as a result of the plant closures in North Carolina and Louisiana, according to WRAL.
While the bottling company did not officially disclose the reason behind the closures, an investigation by WRAL revealed that the plants are shutting down due to plummeting Bud Light sales. Nationwide boycotts in response to the controversial Bud Light partnership with Mulvaney, known as “365 Days of Girlhood,” have adversely affected retailers, distributors, bars, and contracted companies associated with the brand.
Workers at the affected bottling plants reportedly observed a decrease in production after Mulvaney’s video announcement of the collaboration on social media gained attention in April. The impact of the boycott resulted in some machines being taken offline at the Louisiana and North Carolina plants, as noted by a machine repair mechanic interviewed by WRAL, who attributed it to “the Bud Light situation.”
An internal memo from Ardagh Group obtained by WRAL stated that the decision to close the two plants was due to slow sales with Anheuser-InBev. Longtime employees expressed little surprise at the closures, given that a significant portion of their business at those plants involved producing bottles for Budweiser and Bud Light.
Employees at the Wilson, North Carolina plant reportedly confirmed that their manager attributed the closure to the Bud Light boycott, with David Williams, a machine repair mechanic, stating, “‘Because of Budweiser no longer selling the bottle, they no longer needed our product.'”
Since the controversial promotion featuring Mulvaney and the subsequent backlash, Bud Light sales have suffered a decline that shows no signs of recovery. The brand has experienced substantial losses in market value and has taken various measures to mitigate the fallout. These steps include significant beer discounts, consumer rebates that make Bud Light practically free in certain markets, support for distributors, increased marketing efforts, a new summer ad campaign, and CEO Brendan Whitworth’s appearance on “CBS Mornings” to address the situation.
Despite these efforts, the negative sentiment surrounding the Bud Light brand persists, resulting in ongoing sales slides. NielsenIQ data provided to FOX Business by Bump Williams Consulting revealed that Bud Light sales were down 24.4% compared to the previous year for the week ending June 3. During the same period, Modelo Especial surpassed Bud Light as the top-selling beer brand on a dollar basis.
Mulvaney recently criticized the controversy surrounding Bud Light, highlighting the increased bullying and transphobia faced as a consequence. The transgender influencer also expressed disappointment with the lack of support from the company while dealing with transphobic incidents.
And……?
Get Woke – Go Broke
Get Woke – Go Broke
Ardagh Group should start making wine bottles for wineries on the Weat Coast. As a result of Biden’s Ukraine War, the price of wine bottles has skyrocketed.
Why don’t they bottle a good beer instead of the faggy downstream stuff?
Well said!
Because they make a cheap product for a cheap beer.
And yet Buttweizer still won’t admit their mistake and apologize for giving the middle finger to the millions of straight Americans they insulted.
overturn Lawrence v Texas and bring back sodomy laws
Well….. BYE!!!
This is not a boycott. This is a permanent loss of costumers. There’s a huge difference.
You can’t tell me that Buttweiser bottles are sooo unique no one else can use them? I see a multitude of bottle needs out there for Craft beers, maybe a good deal on a discounted supply. would keep the plant(s) open at least.
If they had a good sales team they would go after another customer. They very least they should have diversified so this would never happen. Plenty of things come in glass bottles. BBQ sauce, Salsa, Juice, Olive Oil, wine, ANOTHER BEER
Interestingly enough all of Budweiser bottles used to be made in Ohio but they shut that factory down to move for cheaper labor and less labor laws down south so yeah I’m feeling really sorry for them LOL. What comes around goes around.
Get woke. Go broke.
Budweiser offended Americans….badly. Not just by trying to make us accept a lie, but an ugly one at that.
Just like Biden voters budwiper will never admit they were so wrong.
Despite the heralds of the media blowing their horns to celebrate transexualism, the peasant rabble isn’t as inspired.
Learn to code.
Gee, nobody seems to be crying for the 100’s of thousands of white collar workers laid off in last weeks news. Every job lost is because of bidenomics and whom ever is pulling his strings not anti-“wokeness” and conservatives spending the little $$ they have supporting companies that promote America and its workers.
Great! The more companies that get the message, the better. Plus as a bonus, it is a free lesson to entrepreneurs that if your business is wholly dependent on one customer, you’re not really a company, you’re just an economic tick.
The one weapon the WOKE do not have a defense against – our wallet. AB is the first casualty on the War on Woke. Keep the siege going.
Trickle-down justice: don’t subcontract for woke contractors!
these people are out of work because of marketing, not the customer base.
These clowns are appeasing the transsexual crowd representing less than 1% of the population, and they offended a far greater part of the population. Apparently the butt-wiser management is unable or unwilling to understand and read the beer market. What a disgrace to their shareholders and an insult to America.
I don’t remember seeing the media all that concerned when Christian farmers were cancelled by the trans movement.
Find another customer to make bottles for.
FAKE NEWS! The Deer Drinkers of America aren’t going on the wagon, they’re gonna get their ‘Long Neck’ fix from a mdifferent brewer. Besides, aren’t the new ‘Long Necks’ aluminum now?
“Beer Drinkers of America” Why was I born with all thumbs?
Tranheuser bush = buncha DFs.
To be honest, there’s probably 650 jobs created elsewhere to make bottles for the beers that are selling more! FJB
Where is my comment directing the bottle company finding another customer to make bottles for?
When one has one customer that decides to commit economic suicide.
Why haven’t you sought out other companies that might need your product?
That is a lot of people out of work, that, don’t want to be.
They have bills to pay and a family to take care of.
The down side of boycotts. The lowest on the pole gets hurt first.
I have been there. I would buy Butt Lit, for, the principle of keeping the nonwoke employed.
Corporate has a feedback line/system. Tell them your disgust that way.
Respond intelligently, don’t react from emotion.
Let’s see if this will pass your censors.