Staff have been informed on Monday morning that 39 positions will be made redundant and contractors will be affected as the company shifts the brewing of 20 million litres of non-Boag's brands interstate. 

Lion managing director James Brindley said the change would ''return the Boag’s Brewery to its traditional focus on the Boag’s portfolio of Tasmanian beers'', which he said was ''still a very substantial 36 million litres''.

''We have capacity in our national network and the Boag’s Brewery in its current format is also under-utilised,'' Mr Brindley said.

''This change will allow us to reconfigure the Boag’s Brewery to a size more appropriate for the Boag’s portfolio, significantly improving efficiency.

''This is not something we have taken lightly and is no reflection on the dedication and capability of our people at the Boag's Brewery or the importance of the Tasmanian market to our business,'' he said.

Mr Brindley said the transition was expected to be completed by the end of September.

''We recognise the impact this will have on our people and we will be providing them with comprehensive support to help them manage this transition,'' Mr Brindley said. 

Last year, about 18 casual positions were lost when Lion announced it would move production of nationally branded glass beer packs for the West Australian market to the Tooheys brewery at Lidcombe.

James Boag's beer products will continue to be brewed in Launceston.