Bitter finish in Eden
Published September 16, 2015
Editorial by Greensboro News-Record, September 16, 2015.
The beer industry has never been stronger in North Carolina.
But that’s no consolation to 520 employees of the MillerCoors brewery in Eden, their families, related businesses and everyone else in and near the Rockingham County town. The plant, which opened in 1978, will close next year because of declining sales.
MillerCoors is the second-largest beer maker in the country and part of a global conglomerate. The Eden facility produced more than 7 million barrels last year, but that production isn’t needed anymore. Beer Marketer’s Insights, a trade publication, reports that MillerCoors’ sales volume slid from 64.5 million barrels in 2008 to 55.8 million barrels in 2014.
Meanwhile, small craft brewers are growing in number and popularity. Red Oak and Natty Greene’s are well-established in Guilford County, and new microbreweries have followed. Asheville is nationally known as a beer city, but Fortune magazine recently touted Charlotte as North Carolina’s “newest hub for craft beers.” While its oldest brewery opened just six years ago, it now has 17 — with 20 more in development. Beer is brewed across the state, from West Jefferson to Wilmington. Most breweries are small, but two top-10 companies are establishing a presence in the Asheville area. Sierra Nevada’s new brewery is already open, while the New Belgium brewery will begin operations next year.
The new breweries produce many distinctive, high-quality beers made from locally grown ingredients that are served fresh, often in adjacent pubs.
The MillerCoors brewery is the state’s largest, but it wasn’t the first of its kind in North Carolina. Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. opened a large facility in Winston-Salem in 1969. It was bought by Stroh Brewery in 1982 and closed in August 1999, laying off 450 workers. Winston-Salem’s unemployment rate that month was 2.7 percent; its economy could absorb the displaced workers.
Eden and Rockingham County aren’t so lucky. The most recent unemployment rate posted for Rockingham County was 7.1 percent. More than 3,000 workers were listed as unemployed. Now, 500 others will join their ranks, and probably more once related businesses feel the pinch.
The county and city will lose significant tax revenues but still have to provide public services and operate schools. MillerCoors also will be missed for its support of local causes.
Some workers may look for jobs in Guilford County, where their manufacturing skills might make them attractive to employers. But additional competition for available jobs could have the unwelcome effect of holding down wages in Guilford County.
Maybe the powerful Rockingham County senator, Phil Berger, will rethink the decision to slash unemployment benefits. His own constituents may need more help than a maximum of $350 a week for 16 weeks.
While the beer industry is strong in North Carolina, it has produced losers as well as winners. It gave Eden many good years, but it’s leaving a sour taste now.
