The CEO of a major beer company is now complaining that the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement is hurting beer sales in the Hispanic community.
Constellation Brands CEO Bill Newlands, whose company makes Corona and Modelo beers, made the comments during an appearance on Yahoo Finance’s “Catalysts.”
“Well, the consumer is concerned about a number of things… The pricing and costs of things, inflation,” he began. “They’re concerned about immigration, particularly consumers that have had friends or family who have been involved with issues around immigration.”
Newlands then claimed that because of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, “people are spending less,” adding: “They’re out less in restaurants. They’re spending less on consumer goods and consumables.”
“Fortunately, beer is pretty far down the list, but there’s an overall concern in that [Hispanic] community,” he continued. “Less social gatherings … Those are beer moments. So for us, that creates a bit of a challenge.”
Newlands also noted that, despite being an American company, Constellation Brands would be focusing on investing in Mexico.
“While we’re an American company, we’re invested in Mexico because we are selling authentic Mexican brands,” he said. “And the same way that you’re not making champagne in the United States or you’re not making tequila in the United States, or you’re not making New Zealand Sauvignon blanc in the United States, we’re not going to be making Mexican beer in the United States.”
These comments are not particularly shocking to many who have been paying attention, as Modelo has partnered with Unidos US, a nonprofit that supports amnesty for illegal aliens and lobbies for immigration policy reform.
However, Newlands’ comments have prompted backlash on social media, especially from conservative activist Robby Starbuck — who has made it his mission to expose woke companies and advocate for boycotts to force the companies to become neutral on political issues.
“Constellation Brands just had their earnings come out and they show weaker sales that they blame on Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown,” Starbuck explained. “They also say that they plan to continue investing and creating jobs primarily in Mexico. Corona and Modelo are definitely not America First brands! Glad we got them to roll back DEI but I’m not a fan of any company that relies on illegal aliens for sales and chooses to invest in Mexico over the US.”
As Starbuck noted, Constellation Brands’ earnings were revealed just before Newlands made his remarks, and they showed that the company has been struggling, as the earnings were roughly $12.90 per share, far below the projected $13.97 per share that was expected.
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