Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Africa, has assured the public that ‘no job will be lost’ as results of a successful acquisition of Southern Bottlers (SOBO) from Castel Malawi.
Managing Director of CCBA in Malawi, Seutloadi Thaanyane, made the assurance on Monday during a press briefing held at Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre. He said the company has maintained all the employees that were producing soft drinks at Sobo (Castel Limited).
“No job has been lost; and let me assure the public and all our employees that no job will be lost as a result of the acquisition of Sobo,” assured Thaanyane adding that: “We have employed a total of 354 people including the additional people that were not originally from Sobo.”
In a statement announcing the commencement of operations in Malawi, CCBA Chief Executive Officer Jacques Vermeulen said: “We see a compelling long-term growth opportunity in Malawi that will benefit our business as well as consumers in this market.
Furthermore, it will allow us to share best practices and achieve enhanced efficiencies which, in turn, will mean an improved and more seamless service for customers,”.
The CCBA group is the 8th largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world by revenue, and the largest on the continent. It accounts for over 40% of all Coca-Cola beverages sold in Africa by volume.
With over 17,000 employees in Africa, the CCBA group services approximately 600,000 outlets with a host of Coca-Cola beverages bearing international and local brands.
The group was formed in July 2016 after the successful combination of the southern and east Africa bottling operations of the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages businesses of The Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller Plc and Gutsche Family Investments.
CCBA shareholders are currently: The Coca-Cola Company 66.5% and Gutsche Family Investments 33.5%.
The CCBA group currently operates in 15 countries, including its six key markets of South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique and Namibia, as well as Tanzania, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, the islands of Comoros and Mayotte, Eswatini, Lesotho, and now also Malawi.
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