Diageo unions end closure protest

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A campaign to save hundreds of whisky jobs at two Diageo factories has been formally ended after unions reached an agreement on redundancy deals.

In September Diageo announced it was going ahead with the closure of the Johnnie Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock despite strong protests.

The firm is also closing the Port Dundas grain distillery in Glasgow.

The Unite union said it managed to achieve a "far better deal" for the workforce who are losing their jobs.

About 900 people will be made redundant as a result of the two closures.

Concluded discussions

The firm had said the cuts would be off-set by the creation of up to 400 new posts at a packaging plant in Fife.

However, it faced a vociferous campaign against the closure plans.

A statement from Diageo said: "Diageo has today concluded discussions with employees on the restructuring proposals announced by the company on 1 July, 2009.

"Through the well-established negotiation framework all the trades unions representing employees have recommended acceptance of the proposals.

"Last week GMB approved an offer and today Unite confirmed that - following a vote of the membership - the vast majority of the Diageo workforce has fully accepted the offer and the proposals."

It added: "The agreement, which includes targeted voluntary redundancy, has been reached within the financial business case laid out in the original announcement."

A spokeswoman for Unite said: "The issue has been settled and it has been settled to the satisfaction of our members. The campaign will be stood down."