Diageo plant officially closes
- Ron Giofu
- 18 minutes ago
- 7 min read
It was an end of an era in Amherstburg last Wednesday afternoon.
Workers filed out of the Diageo bottling plant in Amherstburg for the last time, many hugging each other and others shedding a tear or two. The company announced last August it would close the St. Arnaud St. facility this month and followed through, albeit a couple days earlier than anticipated.
Unifor, the union that represented the workers in the plant, said the Crown Royal bottling facility was closed two days ahead of schedule “without advance warning to the workers.”
“This is a final show of disrespect for Canadian workers as Diageo moves their jobs south of the border to appease Donald Trump,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne, in a statement. “This is a sad day for our members and for this community, which has a century long storied history of whisky making.”
Unifor said Diageo announced plans to close the Amherstburg plant six months ago “and eliminate the jobs of more than 200 Unifor Local 200 members.”
The union maintains that despite the efforts of the union and offers from the Ontario government, the company refused to reverse its decision to shift production to the U.S., with the final day of work scheduled for February 27, 2026.”
“It’s clear Diageo didn’t want to face the scrutiny that would have come on the final day of operations, so its overseas executives opted to slink out of Ontario instead,” said Unifor Local 200 president John D’Agnolo. “Canadians will not forget that Diageo is a company that chose to walk away from a loyal workforce and add insult to injury by bottling a marquee Canadian whisky in America.”
The members were notified during their shift that last Wednesday would be their final day on site, the union’s statement says, adding “while the workers will be compensated for the two unworked days, the abrupt removal is an unacceptable way to end their service.”
Unifor said it will continue to work with the Town of Amherstburg and the Province of Ontario to attract a new employer to the facility “and preserve good local jobs.”
Dean Lennox left the plant for the final time after 23 years of service Feb. 25. He said he felt lucky to work with the co-workers he had, but did not mince words when it came to his now former employer.
“It’s disgusting corporate greed,” he said of the decision to move the work to the United States. “If they all stuck together, this community wouldn’t be ruined.”
Lennox believed instead of working as a team, Diageo’s plants were put against each other. He said his nephew was there as a student and that’s now gone as well.
“Instead of working together to improve our efficiencies, which were already awesome, they put us against each other,” said Lennox.
Lennox said “we were family here” as he held a poem written about the plant by one of his co-workers.
“We all had each other’s back.”
Doug Benekritis, Unifor chairperson for the Diageo Amherstburg plant, said it is an emotional time for he and his now former co-workers. He said he places blame on company officials elsewhere.
“We don’t blame the people here,” he said.
Benekritis called it “his family” and “I have to protect my people.” He said when he started 24 years ago, it became his family.
“It’s hard to hold it together,” he said after his last shift.
At one point, there were 200 people at the plant but about half have gone on to other employment. Benekritis said while he enjoys Diageo products, he’ll never buy any again. He also was upset with the $23 million deal the provincial government struck with the company to keep Diageo products on LCBO shelves.
“I absolutely believe (Premier) Doug Ford sold me out,” he said, vowing not to vote Conservative again.
Benekritis said Diageo was a good place to work but he will move on and carry on with his life.
“I’m going to find the next chapter of my life and enjoy it,” he said.
Mayor Michael Prue, who voiced criticism of the deal with the province stating “what I see isn’t much” in a Feb. 18 article in the River Town Times, told the RTT last week he is wanting to see the plant sold. Had a previous offer been accepted, a new buyer could have been in there and a seamless transition could have occurred.
“We’re still working on a potential buyer,” said Prue. “The buyers are still interested.”
Prue said there has been some frustration as “they have been trying to buy the plant” but offers of $25 million and $30 million have not been accepted as of yet.
There are still chances that Prue could be part of meetings with company officials.
“We had a meeting scheduled with Diageo a week or ten days ago and they cancelled it,” he said last Friday. “They were going to get back to us on a new date but they haven’t done so yet.”
Prue added he has also sent a message to Ford but is awaiting a reply. He said of the $23 million deal that it is “just not enough” for the people of Amherstburg as the money “is going all over the province.”
Of the workers, Prue said they are still being fought for.
“We continue to fight for them,” he said. “We continue to believe in them.”
Essex MPP Anthony Leardi told the RTT last Friday afternoon that he empathizes with the staff at Diageo.
“Amherstburg is my hometown. These are my people,” said Leardi. “I know what it’s like. I stand with my people.”
Leardi added: “I want to congratulate the union for going through a very difficult negotiation and I understand the union did a very good job for its members.”
The Essex MPP stated the Ford Government has made “historic investments” in not just Amherstburg, but around Essex County. Many are in water and wastewater infrastructure.
“These historic investments are in the multi-millions of dollars,” he said. “These multi-million investments are designed to create good jobs especially in the skilled trades because we know a strong economy is the basis for a stable quality of life.”
The $23 million deal between Diageo and the province sees about $1 million for this area. A total of $500,000 will be given to Invest WindsorEssex for economic development “with a focus on Amherstburg and the surrounding area,” and an additional $500,000 is part of the agreement for “other community projects to support residents of Amherstburg.”
On the latter point, Leard stated “there’s always room for discussion. There are always opportunities.”
Other funds will see an $11 million investment to purchase grain neutral spirits manufactured by Greenfield Global in Johnstown, a $3 million investment in new ready-to-drink beverages such as Crown Royal, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan canned beverages through a Toronto-based co-packer to supply the Canadian market, $1 million in direct funding to organizations that support the growth and sustainability of Ontario’s agricultural sector, a $2 million investment in new packaging for pre-mixed beverages through a co-manufacturer in Scarborough, $5 million for Ontario-based marketing and promotion and “a commitment to explore options to establish a new Ontario canning facility.”
“Premier Ford thinks about everyone in Ontario,” said the PC MPP.
Leardi added Ford “took a lemon and he had to make it into lemonade. He successfully protected jobs across Ontario.”
“We still have a facility in Amherstburg. The asset is still in the Town of Amherstburg,” he added. “Amherstburg people are very entrepreneurial. Amherstburg people are very good workers.”
Regarding who buys that asset, Leardi added Ford “is open to talk to anyone. If you want to do something good for the Province of Ontario, Doug Ford will listen.”
Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky, a New Democrat, slammed the closure in a statement last week, stating the Diageo workers were “abandoned” by the plant closing two days ahead of schedule.
“People showed up ready to work and were told it was over. Just like that,” said Gretzky. “These workers gave years, in many cases decades, of their lives to this plant. They deserved honesty, respect, and the chance to finish with some dignity.”
Gretzky added: “In Doug Ford’s Ontario, workers are treated like they’re disposable. After all the stunts, the threats, and the photo ops, these jobs are still gone and families are left to deal with the consequences.”
“Look around. Pouring out bottles for the cameras didn’t save a single job,” she said. “It didn’t stop production from being moved out of the country.
It didn’t help the workers who now have to figure out how they’re going to pay their mortgage or support their kids.”
New Democrats say the Windsor region already faces some of the highest unemployment in Canada, making the loss of nearly 200 good-paying jobs especially devastating.
“This isn’t just numbers on a spreadsheet,” Gretzky added. “It’s families, it’s rent, it’s groceries, it’s people lying awake at night wondering what comes next. Our community built this plant and workers deserve a government that should be fighting for them before it’s too late, not one that shows up after the fact with no real plan.”
The River Town Times reached out to Diageo for further comment, but have not heard back as of press time.
The company said last August “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.”
Diageo said it is continuing to invest in Canada through ongoing production, noting facilities in Manitoba, Quebec and the Toronto area. The company stated last August that attributing the decision to close the Amherstburg plant to the current trade environment between Canada and the U.S. “would be inaccurate.”
Diageo plant officially closes
By Ron Giofu