Anheuser-Busch cuts 1,400 jobs

The cuts represent about 6% of the company's total U.S. workforce.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev said Monday it will cut 1,400 U.S. jobs, about 6% of its total U.S. workforce.

The cuts come just a few weeks after InBev's $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch Cos. on Nov. 18.

The Belgian brewer said 75% of the positions being cut are at corporate headquarters in St. Louis. More than 250 open positions will not be filled, the company said.

An additional 415 contractor positions will be pruned from the payroll, the company said. Most of the reductions will occur before 2009.

"To keep the business strong and competitive, this is a necessary but difficult move for the company," said David A. Peacock, the company president, in a statement.

The company said the reductions are in addition to the more than 1,000 U.S. salaried employees who took buyouts in a program that ended Nov. 14.

The program was part of a $1 billion cost reduction plan announced in June. At that time, Anheuser-Busch said it planned to cut its U.S. full-time salaried workforce to 10 to 15% by the year's end.

When InBev announced in July it would take over Anheuser-Busch, the company said it planned to save at least $1.5 billion annually.