100 Whyte & Mackay Staff Face Job Cuts

[John]

Staff at whisky makers Whyte & Mackay are waiting to hear details of 100 job cuts at sites across Scotland. The cuts come just weeks after the announcement that drinks giant Diageo is to cut 900 whisky jobs in Scotland.

The redundancies are part of a restructuring drive. Whyte and Mackay has plants in the west of Scotland, Highlands and Grangemouth.

The GMB union said it did not believe any of the sites faced closure, but details were yet to emerge.

Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya bought Whyte & Mackay in a £595m ($1.2bn) deal in May 2007, posting pre-tax profits of £25.6m for the 18 months to the end of March last year.

The firm currently employs 550 people across its seven sites in Scotland, including its Glasgow city centre headquarters, the Invergordon Distillery and its bottling factory in Grangemouth.

The GMB's Harry Donaldson said on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "It's bitterly disappointing for the workforce in terms of what they are going to hear this morning.

"I think it's time that we have a whisky summit in terms of what does this really mean for Scotland and jobs based in Scotland.

"I think we need to involve the Scotch Whisky Association, the employers themselves and the politicians - along with the trade unions."

Whyte & Mackay spokesman Rob Bruce confirmed that about 100 jobs would be lost under the restructuring plans.

He said: "These are difficult times. All industries are being affected, not just the whisky industry.

"This is about creating a sustainable future for Whyte & Mackay. The company will not be saying any more until they have spoken to their employees."

John

[Charlie]

I had read that up to 85 posts in Scotland are under threat, with the grain distillery at Invergordon thought to be in line for more than 30 job cuts - potentially a quarter of its 133-strong workforce. Tamnavulin which has recently come back into production since it was mothballed in 1995 could also be hit by these cuts.

It is such a different picture than just over a year ago.

Charlie