Moray MSP Laura Mitchell has requested urgent meetings with Diageo and trade union representatives as the drinks giant presses ahead with a restructuring programme that could cost dozens of jobs at Speyside distilleries.
The Scottish National Party MSP, who has represented Moray at Holyrood since May 2026, said she was seeking talks with both parties after GMB Scotland accused Diageo of failing to properly engage with staff during a consultation on job losses.
“It’s no secret that the whisky industry has faced some tough economic headwinds in recent months, driven largely by global events,” Mitchell said. “That doesn’t make any potential job losses any less concerning, and as Moray’s MSP I, of course, don’t want to see redundancies in Speyside.”
“This will be an anxious time for the workers affected, and the wider teams at the sites involved,” she added. “I’m in touch with both Diageo and the GMB and hope to meet with both urgently to discuss the impact on staff and the wider Moray economy.”
Diageo has placed 172 employees across its Highlands and Islands distilleries at risk of redundancy, with the company warning that 38 roles could ultimately be lost. The affected sites include Cardhu, Cragganmore and Dufftown in Moray, alongside other Speyside and island operations.
GMB Scotland organiser Lesley-Anne Macaskill described the consultation process as a “box-ticking exercise,” alleging that company representatives lacked the authority to alter the proposals and had disregarded workers’ concerns. The union says it repeatedly proposed alternatives to compulsory redundancies, including voluntary redundancy and job-sharing schemes, all of which it claims were rejected. GMB Scotland has formally rejected the consultation outcome and is urging politicians across the Highlands and Islands to intervene, warning that the fallout would extend beyond distillery staff to the wider rural economy.
A Diageo spokesperson said: “In February, at our Interim Results, we shared our intention to redesign our operating framework, to drive sustainable returns for shareholders by delivering a more competitive Diageo. In the UK, we are still in consultation on this and no decisions have been made. We will always prioritise informing our colleagues of any organisational changes first and have committed to update shareholders on our progress at a Capital Markets Day on 6 August.”
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The Moray cuts sit within a much larger global overhaul. Diageo chief executive Sir Dave Lewis, who took charge in January 2026, has ordered sweeping reductions in overheads across the group, with some teams facing cuts of 20 to 30 percent of staff, according to Reuters. The restructuring follows persistent weakness in North America, Diageo’s largest market, and forms part of a wider drive to cut costs and simplify the business.
Diageo operates 31 distilleries in Scotland and accounts for roughly a third of the country’s whisky production, according to The Herald. Full detail on the company’s strategy, including the scale of savings targeted under its cost-cutting programme, is expected when Lewis presents Diageo’s full-year results and long-term plan at the Capital Markets Day on 6 August.
Mitchell’s intervention adds political pressure on Diageo as it finalises decisions affecting Speyside’s whisky workforce, a sector central to Moray’s local economy and employment base.
