IRWINDALE, CA — The Coors brewery plant in Irwindale, a landmark along the 210 Freeway, will shut down in 2020 after 40 years of brewing. The company announced the closure Monday, and it could affect hundreds of workers.

It’s possible, however, that the Silver Bullet beer could be replaced by the Blue Ribbon beer under an agreement reached with Pabst Brewing Co., giving that company an option to purchase the site located at 15801 W. First St. Coors plans to shut down the plant by September and will shift production of Miller Lite, Coors Light, Miller High Life, MGD, Steel Reserve, Miller 64 to other sites primarily in Golden, Colorado, and Fort Worth, Texas.

“This move will allow us to optimize our brewery footprint while streamlining our operations for greater efficiency across the network,” said Brian Erhardt, chief integrated supply chain officer. “While it was a very difficult decision, we have extra capacity in our system and Irwindale’s production can be absorbed by other breweries in our network.”

The brewery, which opened in 1980, employs about 470 people and produced 4.8 million barrels, shipped to 261 independent distributors in 2019, according to the company.