Diageo plant faces axe despite £2bn profit
Related articles
Protesters attacked Diageo's plans to axe 900 whisky jobs after the drinks giant's reporting of a £2.02bn profit yesterday.
Diageo, whose brands include Smirnoff and Guinness, said it suffered a "challenging" year to June, with pre-tax profits slightly lower than last year.
It plans to close its Johnnie Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock with the loss of 700 jobs and shed a further 200 jobs from the Port Dundas distillery in Glasgow.
Scotland is one of Diageo's largest spirit supply centres, employing about 4,500 and producing nearly 50 million cases of Scotch whisky and white spirits.
Diageo said it will partially offset the planned cuts by creating 400 jobs at its packaging plant in Fife.
Diageo's chief executive, Paul Walsh, said: "The reality is that Scotch whisky's future lies beyond these shores, we have to penetrate new markets."
A cross-party campaign has been launched to try to persuade the firm to change Diageo's plans. The former cabinet minister Des Browne, MP for Kilmarnock, said the plant's closure "would be devastating for our town".
-
Emergency landing at Heathrow sparks further controversy over London airport capacity
-
Unrest may spread across Europe, warns Red Cross chief
-
French government seeks to ban extreme right-wing group
-
BNP and EDL accused of attempt to fuel racial hatred after Woolwich terror attack
-
You want to get an Eton scholarship? All you need to do is answer four (not so simple) questions
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
Johnny Marr talks relationships and reunions
In pictures: After the flood
Death becomes her: A very modern mortician
School of chop: Learning the art of butchery
The man who's eaten everywhere
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?


Comments