Crown Royal plant's early closure 'final show of disrespect,' union says
· Toronto Sun
Diageo has shuttered its Crown Royal bottling plant in Amherstburg, Ont., two days earlier than expected and without notice , a move the workers’ union called a “final show of disrespect.”
Lana Payne, the national president for Unifor whose union represents workers at the facility south of Windsor, slammed the move in a Wednesday news release, saying Diageo was moving jobs to the United States to “appease” President Donald Trump.
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“This is a sad day for our members and for this community, which has a century-long, storied history of whisky making,” Payne said.
The Amherstburg plant was slated to shut down on Friday after Diageo and Unifor reached a closure agreement late last year that provided enhanced severance over what would have been the legal minimum after the workers’ deal expired.
In a final show of disrespect, #Diageo has closed its Crown Royal whisky plant in Amherstburg, Ontario two days ahead of schedule, without advance warning to workers. #canlab https://t.co/wV7705JmjJ
— Unifor (@UniforTheUnion) February 25, 2026
‘Abrupt removal’ of workers ‘unacceptable:’ Unifor
About 160 members of the union — many of whom are from families who have made a living at the plant for generations, according to the Windsor Star — were also given the option of leaving their job immediately or staying on until the plant closed.
The union said Wednesday, however, that workers were told during their shift that it would be their last day at the site. While they were compensated for two unworked days, Unifor said the “abrupt removal” was an “unacceptable way to end their service.”
“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,” Unifor Local 200 president John D’Agnolo said.
“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.”
Efforts to reverse decision unsuccessful
A message seeking a response from Diageo was not immediately returned, although the company told the Windsor Star in August 2025 that the decision was not a “reaction to the current trade environment” — a reference to Trump’s import tariffs that have wreaked havoc on Canada’s manufacturing sector.
Diageo announced the closure of the plant and the elimination of more than 200 jobs last summer in part so that the company could shift some of its bottling operations south of the border to be “closer to its many U.S. Crown Royal customers.”
The union and the province tried to convince the company to reverse its decision, but to no avail.
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Decision had angered Ontario’s premier
While Diageo still operates a bottling facility in Quebec and the whisky continues to be made in Gimli, Man., the announcement of the Amherstburg plant’s closure raised the ire of Premier Doug Ford, who vowed to pull Diageo products from LCBO store shelves in response.
Ford also dumped out a bottle of Crown Royal onto the ground during a news conference last year in Kitchener, while vowing to make Diageo “hurt” for its decision to cut Ontario jobs.
He eventually backtracked on his LCBO threat about two weeks ago when Diageo agreed to spend $23 million in new investments across the province.
Emails seeking a comment from the premier were not immediately returned.