Date: 17 September 2009 BROCKLEBANK : ‘DIFFICULT TO DISAGREE WITH DIAGEO DECISION’ Speaking in today’s Scottish Parliament debate on Diageo, Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Ted Brocklebank, said;
“There was no dancing in the streets of Leven last week when the news came through that Diageo’s plans to locate 400 jobs in the area were to go ahead. This part of Fife knows all about job losses caused by industrial restructuring. Levenmouth saw thousands of jobs go when the pits closed and then more recently when the oilfield platform fabrication yard at Methil came to the end of its business life.
“Diageo’s efficient and loyal local workforce, at the Cameronbridge distillery and at the Banbeath bottling plant, were of course pleased that the company had shown confidence in their skills. But all were aware that their good fortune meant 900 jobs going at Port Dundas, Glasgow and at Kilmarnock with the heart-breaking consequences for the families involved. All recognise how devastating that blow must have been. I pay tribute to members across the chamber for speaking with passion for their areas.
“I am encouraged that the company has also indicated that it is willing to work with the government to mitigate and minimise the impact and help regenerate the communities involved. There will be social consequences of Diageo’s decision and the company must react to its social responsibilities.
“While appreciating how difficult it is for families to uproot I understand that Diageo is determined to prioritise applications from workers willing to move from the west to the expanded Banbeath plant at Leven. The local authority is fully aware of the likely housing needs in this respect.
“Ross Finnie made an eloquent contribution in Willie Coffey’s members’ debate in which he talked about loyalty and the responsibility of companies towards their employees. I agreed with much of what he had to say, but as a trained accountant Ross Finnie will also recognise that in the ferocious world of global competition no company can continue to embed inefficiencies in its operations.
“Ross stressed that the important word was sustainability. It’s interesting that Diageo used exactly the same word – sustainability – in responding to the Taskforce alternative proposals. It was important that the Taskforce was set up and that its alternative vision for the Kilmarnock operation was presented to Diageo. However, the new proposals for Kilmarnock were considered, including the offer of a greenfield site. After a thorough assessment Diageo decided that the alternative proposals were simply not economically sustainable. That word sustainable again.
“Diageo does have social responsibilities for its workforce. But that includes a responsibility to its remaining 4000 employees in Scotland – who include two out of every five people directly employed in the Scotch whisky industry. Diageo is the world’s premium drinks business trading in more than 180 countries worldwide. While important, whisky is only one of the drinks it produces.
“Its other brands include vodka, gin and rum as well as beers and wines and ready to drink beverages. Many of these are distilled and bottled at the Cameronbridge and Leven facilities in Fife.
“Nor can it be said that Diageo has starved its Scottish operations of funds. More than £500m has been invested over the past five years, including £86m in its distilling and packaging businesses in Fife which are scheduled for a further £100m investment. The company has made it clear that it sees its highly-motivated Levenmouth workforce as a major asset. They in turn regard Diageo as an excellent local employer.
“Nor can the company be accused of ducking its responsibilities in terms of sustaining a viable business and large numbers of jobs in Scotland as a whole, especially in the teeth of a global recession.
“As Diageo has stressed, it has never sought public funding for its proposals and believes instead that public moneys should be directed to the economies of Kilmarnock and Glasgow.
“I fully accept that this will be of scant consolation to those who are due to lose their jobs in the west and would urge the government to renew its efforts along with the local authorities and other stakeholders, and of course including Diageo, to pick up the pieces and help regenerate the communities of Kilmarnock and Port Dundas as quickly as possible.
“However, had the Taskforce proposals been accepted there was a very real risk that the future of the company’s white spirit business at Levenmouth and jobs elsewhere in Scotland would have been in jeopardy. The company rejected the proposals on the basis that they did not provide a sustainable business model that would be good for either Diageo or Scotland. On the facts as we have them it is difficult not to agree.”
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