Heineken loses control of breweries in war-torn eastern Congo

Dutch beer company Heineken has been forced to abandon its factories in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after armed groups seized control of the buildings during ongoing fighting in the region.

The company had already stopped production at three of its breweries in March when fighting broke out between government soldiers and rebel groups. Some of its factories were damaged, and its storage warehouses were looted during the battles.

However, the situation has now become much worse. Armed fighters have completely taken over Heineken’s facilities in the cities of Bukavu and Goma, which are the two largest cities in eastern Congo and are now controlled by rebels.

“The conditions required to operate responsibly and safely are no longer present, and as of 12th June 2025, we have lost operational control,” the company said in a statement.

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Heineken still runs breweries in other parts of Congo that haven’t been affected by the fighting. The company’s Congolese division is called Bralima, and it produces popular beer brands including Heineken and Primus.

The company has pulled out all of its remaining employees from the affected areas for their safety. “Our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of our employees,” its Friday statement said. “We have withdrawn all remaining staff from these sites and we have continued to support them financially.”

About 1,000 people worked at the Bukavu facilities, either directly for the company or for businesses that depended on the brewery. The loss of these jobs will likely hurt the local economy in an already struggling region.

Congo is an important market for Heineken because of its large population of over 100 million people. The company gets nearly 14% of all its worldwide earnings from countries in the Middle East and Africa. The three affected breweries in Goma, Bukavu and Uvira together made up about one-third of Heineken’s total business in Congo.

The fighting in eastern Congo has gotten much worse this year because of a rebel group called M23, which has been rapidly capturing territory and raising fears that the conflict could spread to other countries.

Congo’s government accuses neighbouring Rwanda of helping the M23 rebels by sending soldiers and weapons, though Rwanda denies this. However, there may be hope for peace soon. Congo, Rwanda, and the United States announced on Wednesday that their negotiating teams have agreed on a draft peace deal that could be signed next week.