More B&I Downsizing News

Warehouse and production workers at the Carlsberg brewery in Denmark went on strike recently to protest a downsizing in their onsite food…er, beverage service. It seems that the company has cut back on the amount of beer workers may have during the day. Rather than the previous rules, which allowed workers to hoist brews throughout the workday from coolers located around the production floor, they are now restricted to drinking only at lunch in the cafeteria.

Unbelievably, the corporate ogres in management cited productivity and workplace safety issues for their decision. They also noted that Carlsberg's policy is an anachronistic throwback to a simpler time, when imbibing the product line on the job was traditionally a perk at breweries worldwide. Most discontinued the practice decades ago.

The Carlsberg workers were having none of it, which is why they walked off the job. They were joined by the company's truck drivers, who, astonishingly, retain the right to bring up to three bottles of beer a day away from the cafeteria each day to drink while making their rounds. The catch: each truck is equipped with a breathalizer that the driver must exhale into before the ignition will engage.

By the way, Just Desserts wonders what the policy at Danish distilleries is…