Drinks giant Diageo to axe more than 100 jobs because of Brexit, says union

Drinks giant Diageo is to cut more than 100 jobs across its Scottish operations because of concerns over Brexit, according to the GMB union.

Workers were told that 70 redundancies will be made at Diageo's Leven plant in Fife and a further 35 its Shieldhall site, near Glasgow.

Selected white spirits production will be moved to the company's Santa Vittoria plant in Italy and to plants in the United States.

The GMB said it had warned the UK government's Scottish Secretary David Mundell earlier this year about the need for special measures to protect Scotland's drinks manufacturing sector against the backdrop of Brexit uncertainty.

A Diageo spokesperson said: “Following the disposal of our wine business and the subsequent end of the wine bottling contracts, we have reviewed our spirits bottling footprint to ensure we not only deliver leading performance for both our domestic and export supply chains around the world, but also to strengthen our business for the future.

"Regrettably, these changes may impact some roles in our European bottling plants towards the end of the year and we will now enter a period of consultation with our employees and their representatives to discuss the proposals in more detail.

"We are committed to our three spirits bottling sites in Europe – two in Scotland and one in Italy. The outcomes of this review will ensure we have the flexibility to respond to increased competition and external volatility, alongside testing and building the capability we need across our global supply chain to grow our brands."

SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth, who represents Leven, said: This announcement by Diageo is concerning and will cause great uncertainty for many people in our communities throughout Fife - and it is doubly concerning that these possible redundancies appear to be down to Brexit.

I would like to make clear to all constituents affected by this announcement that my office is happy to assist them in any way possible during the planned consultation period - and the Scottish Government will do all it can to support the workers facing redundancy.

The suggestion by the GMB union that it had warned David Mundell over the need to take action to protect Scotland's drinks manufacturers against Brexit long before this announcement is yet another sign that he is happy to support the Tories' Brexit plans no matter the damage they will inflict on our communities and economy.

It is clear that the Tories think they can do what they want to Scotland and get away with it - but people will not stand for their reckless gambling with Scottish jobs.

The economic impact of the Tory hard Brexit is set to be severe, and the people of Scotland must be given a choice on whether they wish to take the country down a different path.''

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: This is the cold sober reality of a hard Conservative Brexit. This is a huge employer in parts of Fife and Glasgow that needs the jobs.

The Conservatives need to explain to the workers at these plants why they soon won't be getting a wage at the end of the month.

Liberal Democrats are giving the voters in the general election a choice to change the direction of the country. We can turn back from the economic consequences of Brexit if we choose.''

• Diageo