The company behind Crown Royal has reached a deal with the union representing workers at its soon-to-be shuttered Ontario plant over its closure.
British distiller Diageo announced in August it was shuttering its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., and that bottling at the factory intended for the U.S. market would be shifting stateside, while bottling for Canadian consumers would move to its Valleyfield, Que., location.
The plant is scheduled to close in February 2026, affecting 168 unionized employees and potentially impacting the local economy.
Diageo has said the decision to close the facility is unrelated to tariffs from United States President Donald Trump, adding it made similar decisions in the United States, Italy and Scotland.
Global News was told the agreement includes severance and separation enhancement payments based on seniority, benefit continuation beyond closure and investments in Unifor’s action centre for re-training. It was approved by 89 per cent of Unifor Local 200 members.
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Unifor said in a statement its members have the option to leave their positions immediately or remain until the plant closes in February.
“We fought hard to keep the jobs here,” said Unifor President Lana Payne.
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“This is not the outcome we wanted, but in the end, we acted to secure the best possible outcome for our members while they still had the protection of their collective agreement.”
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A week after Diageo announced the closure, Ontario Premier Doug Ford — in a viral moment of protest — poured out an entire bottle of Crown Royal at a news conference to signal his displeasure and bashed the company’s move as ill-conceived.
Earlier this month, Ford escalated his fight with Diageo, threatening to “leverage” the purchasing power of the LCBO and pull Crown Royal and Smirnoff vodka — another Diageo product — off store shelves.
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Ford pointed to the $765 million the LCBO spends on Diageo’s products and complained that the company executives behind the decision who decided to target their “largest customer in North America” have “half a brain.”
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Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue told councillors in October that Ford has said there are three companies interested in taking over Diageo’s plant.
A Diageo spokesperson previously told Global News it hasn’t been approached for a takeover, but would “engage” in talks after it reached a deal with the union.
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John D’Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200, said in Tuesday’s statement the local will continue to work with Amherstburg and the provincial government to attract a new employer to the facility.
“We’re not giving up on these workers or this community,” D’Agnolo said.
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“Our goal now is to bring new investment into Amherstburg and ensure these skilled workers have access to good, stable jobs for the long term.”
— With files from Global News’ Isaac Callan, Gabby Rodrigues and Colin D’Mello
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