Unifor calls for stronger action to save Amherstburg’s Diageo plant before closure deadline

Premier Doug Ford has confirmed three new companies are interested in taking over the Amherstburg Crown Royal factory.

The president of Unifor Local 200 says while he’s glad to see the Premier threaten to remove Diageo products from the LCBO shelves, more needs to be done before it’s too late.

John D’Agnolo is reacting to Doug Ford’s comments over the weekend where he stated he would remove Crown Royal bottles from the LCBO once the last person walks out of the Diageo plant in February 2026.

D’Agnolo says it’s nice to the see the Premier backing the Amherstburg company and workers, but something needs to be done before the plant closes its doors or it will be too late.

Diageo, which also owns dozens of other well-known brands, including Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Baileys, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan, announced in August that it was closing the bottling plant, in order to “streamline its North American supply chain”.

Ontario is Diageo’s number one customer in North America. Ford stated in early September that Diageo makes $740-million annually in Ontario while spending around $17-million on payroll in the Town of Amherstburg.

D’Agnolo says there needs to be more action now before it’s too late.

“I truly don’t want to wait until the last bottle is out of the plant because then what I’m doing is I’m negotiating a closure agreement, and that’s not something I want to do. I would like to see maybe the Premier looking at certain types of alcohol that Diageo owns and let’s start taking them off the shelf.”

He believes other alcohol that Diageo owns should be removed from the LCBO.

“If Bailey’s is a popular brand, and taking that off the shelf would impact them quickly no different than the vodka’s... I think the company would have to react a lot quicker if it was all off the shelf to be quite frank with you because then they would see that $8-million in labour costs and they’re losing hundreds of millions quickly, I think the decision would be different.”

D’Agnolo says to Diageo this is about making more money for the people at the top.

“When you talk about Diageo, they pretty well own the alcohol side of it. When you look at a company that’s building a plant now in Alabama, so they can pay people less, it’s all about greed. It’s all about taking care of the people... their shareholders, and the only way that impacts them is when they’re losing money.”

D’Agnolo says he will be meeting with the company at the bargaining table in November.

Over 200 people work at the Amherstburg facility, which has been operating for nearly a century.

The company has stated that its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec will remain open.

— Meagan Delaurier/AM800 News With files from AM800’s The Shift with guest host Brian Masse