CBC News reported on Monday that Diageo will close the Crown Royal Canadian bottling plant in Amherstburg, Ontario. The company’s decision to cease operations has sparked backlash from politicians and Canadians alike, including Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford.
Ford called the executives at Diageo “as dumb as a bag of hammers.” He subsequently threatened to “hurt” Diageo and pull Crown Royal from the shelves at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). The Liquor Control Board of Ontario is one of the world’s largest buyers of alcohol, and serves as the only distributor to bars, restaurants, and stores in the province. According to CBC News, LCBO spent about $3.78 billion on products in 2023. Needless to say, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario possesses a lot of buying power.
Unions like Local 200 urged those in the province to “fight like hell” to keep the bottling plant open. Yet Diageo is moving forward with the closure despite threats and pushback.
“I think the decision was already made, to be quite frank with you” said Local 200 President John D’Agnolo according to the outlet.
CBC reports that the 160 Unionized Workers can stay at the plant until February, when it closes, or leave now. Crown Royal’s production process — which includes distillation, mashing, and aging — will take place in Canada in spite of the bottling plant’s closure.
In the comments section, readers appeared to side with the workers at the Crown Royal Canadian bottling plant in Amherstburg.
“I will never buy any of the products by Diageo ever again,” an individual named Harry Gothem wrote in the top-voted comment. “There’s better alternatives for every single one of their products. I am sure that I am not the only person who is going to do this.”
Others shared that Diageo’s Crown Royal was “not a favorite” and that they “wouldn’t miss it.”
Yet it appears Diageo is confident in its decision. The spirits powerhouse is behind major brands like Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, and Baileys.
“Diageo will maintain its significant footprint across Canada, including at our Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area and other bottling and distillation facilities in Gimili, Manitoba, and Valleyfield, Quebec,” the company said in a statement.
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