Heineken pulls Sierra Leone staff on Ebola risk

Heineken has sent their staff of a subsidiary in Sierra Leone home due to the Ebola epidemic. They have also postponed their expansion plans for the Sierra Leone Brewery. "The Ebola virus ha serious consequences for the sales, production and manpower of our company" the brewer announced on Monday. A spokesperson said that their sales have decreased by 70 percent. Most of their employees have been sent on leave, as there is simply no work for them. Nightclubs and other entertainment venues have been closed for months because of the Ebola outbreak. Heineken, which holds 83 percent of the Sierra Leone Brewery, is not the only company to have ceased operations in countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. These are the countries where Ebola has hit the hardest. British Airways have suspended flights to West Africa and agricultural companies have stopped production. The governments of these countries expect that the economy will grow less by half due to the epidemic. Almost 4,500 people have died in West-Africa because of Ebola.