Home News Almost 100 jobs to go at Diageo

Almost 100 jobs to go at Diageo

Friday, 26 June 2009

THERE have been calls on global drinks giant Diageo to clarify its future plans for its Dublin workforce after it announced last week that it will shed almost 100 jobs in the city as part of a global cost cutting plan. The company said it would be making 107 workers redundant in total - 12 of the posts will go in Northern Ireland with the balance due to be cut from its operations in Dublin. The job losses will be in support functions, sales and marketing rather than manufacturing. The company has promised to consult staff to get as many redundancies as possible on a voluntary basis. In a statement last week, Diageo said the job cuts were necessary "to maintain a sustainable competitive business in Ireland" as part of a global restructuring programme. It said it hoped to "reduce costs and improve efficiencies" in the global economic downturn. The company added that the cuts were part of a e111 million global cost-saving plan that was announced last February. The chairman of Diageo Ireland, Brian Duffy, said the decision to enforce the redundancies was “extremely hard to make and follows months of careful analysis and consideration”. “We fully appreciate the significant impact this will have on our employees and their families,” he said. “We will work closely with our employees and offer them every practical support through this difficult time. The decisions taken today are the necessary steps to maintain a sustainable competitive business in Ireland.” Deputy Mary Upton (Lab) noted that the company’s manufacturing and management facility was a major economic driver for the south inner city. She said any diminution of this could only be “bad news for the area and for the entire city”. “The workers have every right to ask precisely why these job losses are coming,” she said. “Diageo is a profitable company with sales of products like Guinness substantially recovering in recent years, and the company is under no financial duress. “None of these job losses should be pushed through without full agreement from the employees, many of whom have been at the company for most of their working lives.” Deputy Catherine Byrne (FG) also called on the company to allay the fears of its remaining workers and to clarify its plans for the future. “I believe that Diageo management must now clarify its future plans and calm the fears of all the workers who have supported them loyally down through the years and are understandably worried about their jobs in the current difficult economic climate,” she said.