85 jobs to go as Interbrew shuts Belfast plant

THE brewer of Bass, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's favourite tipple, is to close its manufacturing facility in Belfast with the loss of 85 jobs.

Interbrew UK said production of Bass would continue after the brewery closed in January but that no decision had been taken on whether Bass would shift to an Interbrew plant in Britain or be outsourced to other Irish-based brewers.

The 200 staff working in Bass Ireland's operations and customer service divisions in Belfast and Omagh will be unaffected by the move.