Wild Scotsman Whisky

900 Jobs Lost in Scotland as Port Dundas Distillery is Closed

Posted Jul 1, 2009 by The Wild Scotsman

A Distillery Alert by the Daily Record in the UK

Diageo axes Port Dundas distillery
Jul 1 2009

AROUND 900 are to be axed after drinks giant Diageo decided to shut its historic distillery at Port Dundas.

Diageo is shutting the distillery, which has been producing whisky since 1810, and is also closing a packaging plant at Kilmarnock in Ayrshire and outsourcing some of its warehousing operations.

The group’s restructuring in Scotland will mark the end of nearly 200 years of distilling at the Port Dundas operation in Glasgow.
Around 140 jobs will be lost when the distillery and its adjacent Dundashill Cooperage close, although Diageo is hoping to relocate some staff to a new cooperage in central Scotland.

Diageo said its “long-term grain whisky requirements can be best met” at the group’s Cameronbridge distillery in Fife, which is being expanded.

The jobs will go over the next two years, but Diageo said changes in the region will also see 400 jobs created through the expansion of its packaging plant in Fife.

The decision to close its Kilmarnock packaging plant and consolidate operations in its other two facilities in Glasgow and Fife will have the biggest impact on jobs, with 700 roles to go by the end of 2011.

It hopes to transfer a number of axed positions to the Fife plant, which is being expanded under an £86 million scheme.

Changes at its Shieldhall packaging plant in Glasgow will also lead to 30 job losses, said Diageo.

And the group is relocating around 80 office-based staff from Dundas House in Glasgow to another location in central Scotland over the next two years.

Outsourcing deals for its Hurlford consolidation warehouse in Ayrshire and Speyside haulage operation for distillery co-products are set to see 80 jobs transferred.

Scotland is one of Diageo’s largest spirit supply centres, currently employing around 4,500 people and producing nearly 50 million cases of Scotch whisky and white spirits.

See original post at TheDailyRecord.co.uk

It seems that Diageo is making good use of the global economy to re-structure its operations. I am of the opinion, however, that the closure of Diageo’s distilleries can lead to an independant group buying the facilities, which is good for Scotland.