More than 100 workers at Diageo's Cameronbridge distillery, Europe's largest grain distillery, will walk out from Sept 28 for three weeks in a dispute over plans to cut 10 jobs at the site, threatening supplies of Johnnie Walker, Bell's and Haig whisky. The action could halt production at the factory, which makes the grain spirit used in blends for some of Diageo's best-known whiskies, and marks the first bout of strike action since Sir Dave Lewis announced a sweeping cost-cutting drive at the drinks giant. Sir Dave, nicknamed "Drastic Dave" for his aggressive approach to cutting costs, took over as Diageo's chief executive in January and is targeting $1bn (£750m) of savings; Diageo employed 27,938 people at the end of June, down by almost 2,000 from a year earlier, while it spent $514m on redundancy payments. Unite, the union overseeing the strike, accused Diageo of failing to consult workers properly, with general secretary Sharon Graham saying there is no justification for slashing hundreds of jobs across its operations when it is raking in hundreds of millions of profit. Diageo said the Cameronbridge dispute was limited to 10 roles, with eight people affected because two of the positions are vacant, and that the cuts were necessary because it had reduced production at the distillery and expected to maintain lower levels of grain distillation over the next few years.
Diageo PLCStrike at Cameronbridge distillery threatens to halt production of grain spirit used in Johnnie Walker, Bell's and Haig blends, disrupting Diageo's whisky supply.
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