Staff at Diageo’s distillery in Cameronbridge in Scotland will hold strike action later this month and into October.
The Unite union said all workers would walk out on 28 September. Specific groups of staff will take action “thereafter” up to just before 6am UK time 15 October.
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Unite said “successive days of action … will be held each day throughout the three-week period”. The union said it believes the action will bring the distillery “to a standstill”.
According to Unite, Diageo plans to cut “hundreds of jobs” across its operations in Scotland. The union said “dozens” of roles at Cameronbridge are “under review”.
Last week, when Unite and fellow trade union GMB announced plans for strikes at Cameronbridge, Diageo confirmed the numbers affected – ten of the 72 staff engaged in “grain distilling” – but said only eight would be impacted because two of the positions were vacant.
Last month, GMB said hundreds of jobs had been put at risk of redundancy across Diageo’s distilleries in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said today (17 Septmber): “Unite has repeatedly warned Diageo that there is no justification for slashing hundreds of jobs across its operations when it is raking in hundreds of millions of profit. We are backing our members at Cameronbridge all the way in their fight for jobs, pay and conditions.”
Just Drinks approached Diageo for comment.
In August, the Johnnie Walker distiller outlined plans to extract $1bn in savings from the business over the next three years.
The company’s annual report, issued last month, showed the Guinness owner reduced its workforce by almost 2,000 people in its last financial year as part of efforts to cut costs and improve its performance.
Diageo confirmed earlier this month it is cutting 305 jobs at its North American headquarters in New York.
