The Spirits Business reported that on August 19, the Independent Stave Company (ISC) publicly announced that it was implementing layoffs by potentially cutting 112 jobs at its facilities in Lebanon, Kentucky. 90 of those jobs are in production, and the cuts will take place over a two-week period, starting October 19.
“We made a strategic decision to consolidate operations to a single shift at Kentucky Cooperage,” an unnamed spokesperson said in a statement. “This step is part of a well-thought-out plan to ensure long-term strength and stability while staying aligned with current market demand.”
The company made headlines in June after it purchased Brown-Forman’s former cooperage in Louisville for $13.66 million, according to The Spirits Business. The outlet reported that in light of the acquisition, ISC expressed no interest in resuming operations at the facility, and claimed that the property would be put back on the market at a later date.
An Indicator of Greater Issues?
Bloomberg reported in mid-August about a softening demand for cardboard boxes, indicating that households within America are feeling uncertain about the economy.
Softening demand of certain items — like a reduced need for barrels — might be a reflection of larger issues within the bourbon business. And it’s quite possible a market correction is happening, considering major heavy hitters like Bulleit have reported a 7.3% slump in profits for 2025.
Drinks-Intel reported that history does repeat itself, and the recent contraction within the bourbon industry is something that has happened before.
“What we are seeing today is not dissimilar to the bourbon downturn of the 1980s, where oversupply, shifting consumer preferences and health trends pressured the industry,” said InvestBev General Partner Brian Rosen according to the outlet. “Yet that reset ultimately gave rise to the modern bourbon boom, with premiumization and global demand creating one of the strongest multi-decade growth stories in consumer goods.”
Rosen went on to report that the contraction was an example of “history repeating itself” and offered a relatively optimistic prediction that new growth would occur in the future as long as whiskey brands everywhere can move through the hurdles of 2025.
2025 has been quite the year for players in the bourbon industry who currently face a softening demand, the threat of tariffs, and boycotts from Canada — one of the biggest export markets for America’s native spirit. Yet the issues don’t just exist for the bourbon category; it appears whisky at large faces more than its fair share of headwinds this year.
Reports of craft distilleries feeling the crunch, like Uncle Nearest’s entering into a receivership, Westward Whiskey’s Chapter 11 filing that took place earlier this year, and a loss in profits for major heavy hitters like Macallan, reflect a bumpy year for the whisky industry in general — not just within the bourbon category.
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