Oettinger has confirmed its CEO Stefan Blaschak is stepping down from his position at the German brewer.

The group told Just Drinks Blaschak is due to exit the top executive role by the middle of next year, after serving a three-year term.

However, according to a report form local business publication Lebensmittel Zeitung he will remain with the beverage group as a consultant. Just Drinks has asked Oettinger to confirm these details.

The brewer confirmed that a search for a replacement for Blaschak was underway. The business said it "will be expanding the management team", and that further details would be given "in due course".

The departure follows strikes and industrial action earlier in the year at Oettinger's headquarter site in Oettingen.

In September, Blaschak welcomed a union offer of arbitration to find an agreement on pay, where the NGG threatened the company with fresh strikes if a substantial pay offer was not put forward.

At the time, the union said it wanted its members to receive “significant” wage increases.

Earlier this year, Blaschak had criticised the NGG, claiming its wage demands were “completely out of touch with reality and damaging to the company given the devastating sales situation in our industry”.

In July, Oettinger set out plans to cease brewing at its site in the northern German city of Braunschweig.

In a statement, Oettinger said the move would affect around 150 employees who work in manufacturing and bottling at the facility.

“Beer output in Germany has been declining for decades,” Blaschak said at the time.

“At Oettinger, sales have now fallen to a level from over 20 years ago. However, back then, two of our current three plants were not yet part of our corporate group. Reducing our in-house overcapacity is unavoidable.”

Oettinger, with an output of around 6.6m hectolitres, is among the largest beverage manufacturers in Germany and claims to be in the top 30 breweries globally.