Almost 40 staff at Diageo’s distilleries in the Scottish highlands and islands risk losing their jobs as part of the drinks giant’s global restructure, local union GMB Scotland has said.
In a statement issued today (3 August), the union said 172 Diageo staff had been placed at risk of redundancy, with a total of 38 set to lose their jobs “as part of a huge global redundancy programme”.
The affected roles are understood to be based at distilleries across the highlands and islands, including Cardhu, Cragganmore, Port Ellen, Islay, and Dufftown. None of the sites are set to close entirely following the restructure, The Grocer understands.
Diageo had failed to engage with staff over the course of a now-ended four-week consultation period, GMB said, adding no agreement had been reached “on the number of potential job losses or the redundancy process”.
“We have now had five meetings with the company to discuss its plans but there has been no serious attempt to engage with our members’ concerns or modify its plans in any way,” said GMB Scotland organiser Lesley-Anne Macaskill. “This has not been a genuine consultation but a box-ticking exercise by a company intent on steam-rolling through job losses to a plan that has already been decided.”
Alternatives rejected
GMB said it had raised alternatives, including voluntary redundancies or job-sharing, to reduce job losses, but executives had “refused to consider any other options”.
This amounted to “a morally bankrupt betrayal of a skilled, experienced and committed workforce”, added Macaskill.
The union has formally rejected Diageo’s consultation process in the distilleries affected, and plans to write to politicians across the highlands and islands “warning of the impact of the redundancies on the fragile economies of rural communities”.
Diageo operates over 20 distilleries across Scotland, producing some of the world’s best-known scotch whisky brands including Johnnie Walker, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Cardhu and The Singleton.
It comes as Diageo prepares to report its first full-year financial results under new CEO Dave Lewis later this week.
Lewis, who earned the nickname ‘Drastic Dave’ thanks to a reputation for cost-cutting whilst in charge of Tesco and Unilever, will reveal his plan to turn around the troubled drinks giant on Thursday (6 August).
Widespread reductions in employee headcount, greater focus on mainstream spirits brands and the introduction of a new, more streamlined operating model are believed to form part of Lewis’ transformation plan.
A Diageo spokesperson said the group was “still in consultation” with employees in the UK, and no final decisions had been made.
“We will always prioritise informing our colleagues of any organisational changes first and have committed to update shareholders on our progress at a Capital Markets Day on 6 August,” the spokesperson added.
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