Anheuser-Busch will close its beer manufacturing plant in Merrimack early next year, the beverage maker announced Thursday, shuttering a facility that’s been in operation for more than 50 years and dealing an economic blow to the region.

The factory, which first opened its doors in 1970, employs approximately 125 full-time workers in New Hampshire.

The company says employees will be offered jobs at other Anheuser-Busch facilities nationwide. Severance packages will also be awarded, though the beverage giant provided no specifics.

The news quickly rippled through Merrimack and beyond Thursday.

“I feel sorry for those individuals, two weeks before Christmas, getting the news that their jobs are going away,” says Paul Micali, Merrimack’s town manager.

Micali says the brewery was integral

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