Diageo has been threatened with a trade union walkout later this month at one of its distilleries in Scotland.
The threat, involving members of worker organisation Unite the Union, would impact the group’s Cameronbridge grain distillery, which employs around 200. Unite has claimed that “over 100 [of its] members” at the facility, in Scotland’s Lowlands production region, will go on strike from Monday 28 September, with further strikes by “specific groups of workers” scheduled until the middle of next month.
The move is in opposition to what Unite says are “Diageo’s plans to slash hundreds of jobs across its operations in Scotland with dozens of roles under review at Cameronbridge, as part of global restructuring proposals”. The union has accused Diageo of not consulting “properly” on job cuts at Cameronbridge, which produces grain whisky for blended scotches such as Buchanan’s, J&B and Johnnie Walker as well as vodka for Smirnoff and gin for Gordon’s and Tanqueray.
When contacted by Global Drinks Intel, a spokesperson for the brand owner, which, according to its latest annual report, cut its global headcount by almost 2,000 in fiscal 2026, said: “We are disappointed by the decision to strike. The proposal to remove up to ten roles at Cameronbridge Distillery is necessary as we maintain reduced production volumes to protect the long-term competitiveness of our business.
“We remain committed to engaging constructively.”
Diageo is not alone in reviewing and reducing its distillation outputs in Scotland: At the start of last year, Brown-Forman shifted the operations at two of its scotch distilleries to what it called a “shared production model”. Fast forward to February this year, Suntory Global Spirits made a near-identical move on Islay for the Bowmore and Laphroaig distilleries on the island.
Nor is this Diageo’s first consolidatory measure in the country, with production at its Roseisle maltings being paused in November until June, in order to “balance capacity against current demand”.
