Diageo shake-up puts jobs at risk at Fife

It comes as the drinks giant announced plans to make global savings of almost £750m, but the move could only affect a handful of workers in Fife.

Trade union Unite said workers at the giant Leven plant and Cameronbridge Distillery were affected.

Four jobs could go among staff at the Leven packaging hub and Diageo’s site in Shieldhall, Glasgow. A total of 12 workers are at risk. There are also ten potential redundancies at Cameronbridge with 72 workers at risk. Consultations over both proposals are on-going.

Diageo declined to put any numbers on potential job losses or make any statement beyond the communications it issued around the company’s 2026 preliminary results which were published this week.

The company’s vast Leven plant is one of the biggest employers in the Kingdom, with a workforce of around 600 people, and has been a focal point of the community for generations. The distillery brings its total workforce to around 700.

The news comes as Diageo also placed 172 staff at risk of redundancy at its Highlands and Islands operations, with 40 posts likely to be cut.

This week, the company reported a 3% decline in net sales to £14.5 billion for the year to June, compared with 2025.

New chief executive, Dave Lewis, has now embarked on a global programme to get the company back on track for returning profit, but that could mean job losses across its portfolio.

The former Tesco CEO joined the UK drinks company at the end of last year with the aim of reviving its fortunes, and part of his plan involves cutting workers’ numbers.

Diageo has reported sales increases in the UK and Europe, but is struggling in North America. Mr Lewis said the business was confident it can deliver improvements

He said: “This new strategy, executing with a new, more agile, competitive and cost-effective operating model, gives us confidence that we can return Diageo to a business consistently creating value for shareholders.”

> Dave Lewis was the man in charge at Tesco when it embarked on a series of store closures.

In 2015, he announced over 40 would shut across the UK, including the anchor store in The Postings Shopping Centre in Kirkcaldy, sparking a huge backlash locally.

Despite a major campaign, Tesco went ahead with the closure which was one of the catalysts of the High Street’s decline and led, ultimately to the closure and demolition of the empty shopping centre after it was put up for auction with a nominal £1 price tag. It was eventually bought for over £300,000 by Wakefield based businessman, Tahir Ali, who now owns a number of retail units in the adjacent High Street, including the empty former Debenhams and New Look shops.

The site is now earmarked for a new housing development, but is currently used as an adhoc, free car park by hundreds of drivers every week.