Asahi plans to close three of its nine local beverage bottling plants, with the loss of 140 jobs. Asahi will close non-alcoholic beverage plants in MacGregor in Queensland, Moorebank in NSW and Payneham in South Australia over the next two years, shifting production to other sites in Victoria, NSW, Western Australia and Queensland. The plant closures were announced by Asahi Beverages Australia chief executive Atsushi Katsuki, who took the helm of Australia's second-largest soft drink bottler in February from David Beguely.