There were hugs, tears and frustration outside the Diageo Crown Royal bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., as workers left the plant for the final time Wednesday afternoon.
Dean Lennox spent 23 years at the facility. He accused Diageo of wrecking the community.
“Every family here, retirees, generations. I had my nephew here as a student, and it’s all gone. It’s disgusting corporate greed,” he said.
After decades of operation, the company said last summer that the facility — said to be the southwestern Ontario town’s biggest employer — would be shutting down in February.
Family members of some of the employees showed up outside the plant Wednesday to support their loved ones. Kayla Butler’s father worked there for about a decade, and she is also a former employee herself.
“My dad’s in his 50s so watching him have to start over after being given such great opportunities to provide for us, it’s really really challenging,” she said.
Her message to the company?
“Thanks for nothing,” she said.
Criticism over Ontario’s deal with Diageo
Larry Renaud worked at the facility for 40 years before retiring.
“It’s terrible. Terrible for the town. Terrible for the people that worked here,” he said.
He showed up outside the plant for his daughter, who has worked there for more than 26 years. He says she’s devastated and facing finding employment in her 50s.
“She’s losing her job. No benefits, no pension,” he said.
According to Unifor, there were more than 200 unionized employees at the plant when the closure announcement was made in August.
The union spoke out on Wednesday, criticizing the company for closing two days sooner than expected, though workers will still be paid for the remaining days.
“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,” said Unifor Local 200 president John D’Agnolo, who represents the workers.
“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.”
Doug Benekritris, the Diageo chairperson for Unifor Local 200, said the workers were able to get all the shipping done so the company decided to move up the closure date.
He said everyone was expecting a Friday closure, so it hit hard when they found out at 1:30 p.m. that the shift would be their last.
“It’s hard to hold it together,” he said.
He said local management has been doing things to show appreciation for the employees.
“We don’t blame the people here. They don’t make the decisions.”
CBC has reached out to Diageo for comment.
At the time the closure was announced, the global alcohol giant cited wanting to relocate bottling operations closer to its U.S. consumers, and noted that Crown Royal will still be produced in Canada after its Amherstburg operations wrap up.
The announcement that the plant would cease operations led Ontario Premier Doug Ford to threaten to pull Crown Royal from LCBO shelves. Earlier this month, the province and the company inked a deal for Diageo to spend $23 million in the province, with a million of that earmarked for this region.
Lennox took issue with that deal, as did Renaud.
“They could have sent that money down here,” Renaud said.
That deal was also panned by Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue.
“None of this is going to help a single soul in Amherstburg,” he said at the time.
The Diageo property at 110 St. Arnaud Street is currently listed for sale.
More to come…
