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Diageo plans to close plant, union to fight decision By Ron Giofu A major town employer has announced it plans to shut down operations locally. Diageo plans to close its St. Arnaud St. facility by February 2026, making the announcement last Thursday morning. Reports say employees were called to a meeting and informed of the news. The union that represents the employees said they will work hard to oppose the decision and plans on meeting with company officials to keep the jobs in Amherstburg. At least 160 employees will be impacted. Unifor Local 200 held an emergency meeting with its Diageo membership at the Ciociaro Club Tuesday morning as this issue of the River Town Times was going to press. Diageo’s North American press office confirmed the news in a press release. “As part of an ongoing commitment to increase the efficiency and resiliency of its manufacturing footprint, Diageo plc (“Diageo”) has announced it will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ontario by February 2026. This is one of Diageo’s facilities currently bottling Crown Royal products,” the release states. The company adds Crown Royal will continue to be produced in Canada, “just as it has been since 1939.” “Diageo will maintain its significant footprint across Canada, including at our Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area and other bottling and distillation facilities in Gimli, Manitoba and Valleyfield, Quebec,” the release states. “This decision reflects Diageo’s efforts to continuously improve its North American supply chain and ensure the company is best positioned for long-term sustainable growth. Through this process, the company will unlock additional productivity and increase resiliency and capacity to scale, effectively meeting demand across its markets and shifting some bottling volume to be closer to its many U.S. Crown Royal consumers. These changes are consistent with the strategic priorities in Diageo’s global Accelerate program, which sets out clear cash delivery targets and a disciplined approach to operational excellence and cost efficiency for the company.” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, stated: “We appreciate our dedicated
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Diageo announced last Thursday plans to close its Amherstburg plant by Feb. 2026. Unifor Local 200, which represents 160 workers, says it plans to fight the decision and wants to schedule meetings with company executives.
Amherstburg employees for their contributions to Diageo and the Crown Royal brand. This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network. All Crown Royal will be mashed, distilled, and aged at our Canadian facilities, just as it has been for nearly a century, and will continue to be the great whisky our consumers know and love. We are committed to continuing our support for the community during this transition.” Diageo says it will continue “to invest in Canada through its ongoing production, local operations, and contributions to local communities,” adding it has invested $150 million into the economy since 2021. “Diageo will support impacted employees through this transition and will work alongside Unifor to provide assistance for its unionized employees,” the company added in the news release. “In the coming weeks, Diageo will be engaging with the community to find meaningful ways to provide support through this transition.” The company has denied trade tensions played any
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role in the decision, calling it “inaccurate” to attribute the it to the trade environment. The company states that “we are continually reviewing our supply footprint and evaluating strategic operational changes to our manufacturing facilities to ensure we can meet consumer demand well into the future. It is not a reaction to the current trade environment.” Unifor Local 200 president John D’Agnolo said the received word of the plant closure Thursday morning, adding they were told it was “a business decision.” “It’s devastating to the members,” said D’Agnolo. “When you think of what’s going through their minds right now, how they are going to pay their bills and how are they going to survive. It’s shocking.” D’Agnolo said he received the news just minutes before the River Town Times called for comment Thursday morning. There had been no warning previously, he indicated, and that company officials came to the plant, read a letter and “that was it.”
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