ST. LOUIS — Anheuser-Busch InBev has laid off an unspecified number of salaried employees in St. Louis.
An A-B InBev spokesman based in New York confirmed the layoffs but wouldn't say how many jobs were cut.
"We are implementing a limited number of targeted changes to our supply organization in our North American zone," the spokesman, Josh Gold, said. "The changes, which affect a small number of salaried positions, are intended to better align our operations with our commercial strategy and to further reduce complexity."
About 6,000 people worked for Anheuser-Busch in the St. Louis area before InBev acquired the brewer in 2008. The company has said that number was about 4,000 at the end of 2011, the last time A-B InBev would answer questions about the size of its workforce here.
The brewer's sales and marketing hubs are now in New York. A-B InBev's North America division is based in St. Louis.
A-B InBev, the world's largest brewer, reported a third-quarter profit of $956 million, down from $2.06 billion in the same quarter last year. Revenue declined to $13.28 billion from $14.74 billion. Its biggest brands continued to lose market share in the U.S., with Budweiser and Bud Light losing 0.35 and 0.9 percentage points, respectively, in the third quarter.
