Some 150 employees will be affected by the closure of Hansa Brauerei In Swakopmund, where a history of brewing beer is to end after 101 years. The Ohlthaver & List Group decided on 2 June to close operations for cost reasons. The announcement was only made on Monday and the labour unions are up in arms, because they were not notified beforehand as the law stipulates. The Namibia Food and Allied Workers’ Union (NAFAU) said he was annoyed as he only found out about the retrenchments through newspaper reports. However, according to a Namibia Breweries spokesperson noted that NAFAU representative Jacobus Jossob was informed at all times and was present when O&L informed the Hansa workers in Swakopmund last Friday about their fate.

Hansa Brewery has a long and proud history as one of the pioneering manufacturing industries in Namibia. It started in 1904 as one of four breweries in the then South West Africa. In 1967, the Swakopmund brewery with its famous Hansa Tafel beer became part of South West Breweries, as NBL was known at the time.