Drinks group announces £120 million restructure
The world’s biggest drinks group, Diageo, has initiated a £120 million restructuring that will see the closure of a packaging plant and distillery, resulting in the loss of around 900 jobs in Scotland.
The overhaul, which will reportedly save an estimated £40 million by 2012, will involve the closure of the company’s grain spirit distillery at Port Dundas, Glasgow, and a packaging plant at Kilmarnock, Ayrshire.
The company, which owns brands including Johnnie Walker, J&B, Cardhu and Talisker, says the jobs will go over the next two years, although it adds that the changes in the region will also see 400 jobs created through the expansion of its packaging plant at Leven, Fife, where a new bottling facility will be built.
The move comes on top of the £200 million restructuring announced in February that was estimated to cut costs by £100 million in the financial year to June 2010 as well as reducing its global workforce of 23,000 by more than 1,000 posts.
