E-Malt.com News article: North America: Diageo North America to axe 305 jobs

More than a third of staff at Diageo’s North America headquarters in New York will be laid off as part of the company’s restructuring, The Spirits Business reported on September 1.

A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice was issued on 30 June and posted on 21 August.

It affects 305 workers at Diageo’s headquarters at 3 World Trade Centre in New York, where 839 employees are not represented by a union. The layoffs mean that 36.3% of the site’s workforce will be cut.

The redundancy process will begin on 30 September this year, according to the notice, and end on 30 September 2027.

A Diageo spokesperson said: “As we shared at the start of August, we have been redesigning our operating framework to deliver a more competitive Diageo. We understand that this is a difficult time for colleagues, and we remain committed to supporting everyone through these changes.”

The owner of brands such as Don Julio and Johnnie Walker is undergoing a major restructuring that targets more than US$1 billion in cost savings over the next three years and aims to reverse the company’s revenue decline in previous years.

Diageo’s CEO, Sir Dave Lewis, known for carrying out a similar measure as the CEO at his previous company Tesco, outlined the plan after Diageo’s full-year 2026 (F26) results were revealed.

Diageo’s sales were down by 2% organically over the year, with net sales in North America suffering an 8.4% decline.

Lewis named John O’Keeffe as Diageo’s new North America president and CEO in April, who made the move from president of the company’s Asia Pacific and global travel retail business.

Former vice-president and regional leader of North America at Procter & Gamble, Sujay Wasan, took over O’Keeffe’s previous role.

Other recent Diageo leadership changes have seen Dayalan Nayager appointed as president of the newly merged Europe. At the same time, Lewis’ former colleague at Unilever, Barry O’Sullivan, was brought in to head up Diageo Great Britain as managing director.

Lewis’ company-wide restructure has eliminated 2,000 jobs at Diageo, with headcount down to 27,938 in its annual report, a 6.4% reduction from the previous year.

In the UK, workers are voting on strike action at Diageo’s Cameronbridge Distillery in Fife, accusing the company of failing to consult on potential redundancies properly.


02 September, 2026