Tiger Beer brewer APBS to cut 130 roles in Singapore over two years, amid brewing scale-down

[SINGAPORE] Tiger Beer brewer Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS) will lay off about 130 workers in Singapore over the next two years, as it prepares to scale down large-scale brewing operations in the Republic by end-2027.

This confirms earlier reporting by The Business Times, which cited sources familiar with the matter on the retrenchments.

“APBS has informed the relevant government agencies and is working with the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU), a National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) affiliated union, to provide support to affected employees,” it said in a Tuesday (Mar 24) statement.

Support measures include severance packages aligned with tenure, outplacement services to aid job searches and career transitions, reskilling and upskilling through NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute, as well as counselling and well-being resources, APBS said.

Under Singapore’s Employment Act, employers with at least 10 employees must notify the Ministry of Manpower within five working days after informing affected workers of retrenchment.

APBS employs 540 staff in Singapore.

“FDAWU recognises that the shift in its business model is a difficult decision as it affects its employees. We appreciate that APBS engaged the union in advance and worked together with us to work through our support for affected employees,” said general-secretary Sankaradass Chami.

He added: “Through close union-management engagement, we have worked to ensure that affected employees are treated fairly with negotiated severance packages and are supported responsibly, including access to the necessary employment and career support as they move forward.”

The career support includes dedicated job fairs to connect affected employees with job opportunities.

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The union was also present at APBS’ communications session with affected employees on Tuesday to ensure they received clear and accurate information, address their questions and concerns, and reassure them of its support, FDAWU said in a separate statement.

Before Tuesday’s announcement, the brewer last undertook a restructuring exercise in late 2023, laying off 33 workers. Affected employees received one month of severance pay for each year of service, along with annual wage supplements and performance bonuses.

In February, parent company Heineken – for which Singapore serves as its Asia-Pacific headquarters – said it would cut 5,000 to 6,000 jobs over the next two years, citing “challenging market conditions”.

This followed a 2.8 per cent year-on-year decline in the group’s consolidated beer volumes in 2025. Europe and the Americas – which together accounted for 68.2 per cent of total beer volumes – posted declines of 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, based on its latest annual report.

In contrast, Asia-Pacific beer volumes edged up 0.4 per cent to 45.5 million hectolitres, or 4.6 billion litres.

The company operates a brewery in Tuas, along Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim.

Its flagship brew, Tiger Beer, was first launched in 1932 under a partnership between Heineken and Fraser and Neave (F&N).

Then known as Malayan Breweries, the company rebranded as APBS in 1990. In 2012, Amsterdam-based Heineken acquired F&N’s stake in APBS for S$5.6 billion.