Diageo plc Announces Strategic Changes to Increase Resiliency of North American Manufacturing Operations

LONDON, 28 August 2025: As part of an ongoing commitment to increase the efficiency and resiliency of its manufacturing footprint, Diageo plc (“Diageo”) has announced it will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ontario by February 2026. This is one of Diageo’s facilities currently bottling Crown Royal products. Crown Royal will continue to be mashed, distilled, and aged in Canada, just as it has been since 1939. Diageo will maintain its significant footprint across Canada, including at our Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area and other bottling and distillation facilities in Gimli, Manitoba and Valleyfield, Quebec.

This decision reflects Diageo’s efforts to continuously improve its North American supply chain and ensure the company is best positioned for long-term sustainable growth. Through this process, the company will unlock additional productivity and increase resiliency and capacity to scale, effectively meeting demand across its markets and shifting some bottling volume to be closer to its many U.S. Crown Royal consumers. These changes are consistent with the strategic priorities in Diageo’s global Accelerate program, which sets out clear cash delivery targets and a disciplined approach to operational excellence and cost efficiency for the company.

“We appreciate our dedicated Amherstburg employees for their contributions to Diageo and the Crown Royal brand. This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” said Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s President of North America Supply: “All Crown Royal will be mashed, distilled, and aged at our Canadian facilities, just as it has been for nearly a century, and will continue to be the great whisky our consumers know and love. We are committed to continuing our support for the community during this transition.”

Diageo will continue to invest in Canada through its ongoing production, local operations, and contributions to local communities.

Note to editors:

• Crown Royal whisky destined for Canada and non-U.S. export markets will continue to be bottled in Canada, at Diageo’s Valleyfield, Quebec facility.
• More than CAD$300 million in annual revenue for Canadian restaurants and bars is attributable to the sale of Diageo products (CAD$125 million of that comes specifically from Ontario).
  • Diageo products support more than 9,700 Canadian jobs (over 3,000 in Ontario) across its operations, as well as the distribution, retail and hospitality sectors.
• Diageo continues to invest in Canada’s economy, demonstrated by approximately CAD$150 million (USD$109 million) investment in its production facilities since 2021.
• Diageo will support impacted employees through this transition and will work alongside Unifor to provide assistance for its unionized employees.
• In the coming weeks, Diageo will be engaging with the community to find meaningful ways to provide support through this transition.

For additional information, please contact [email protected].

About Diageo:

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories.  These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan’s, Smirnoff and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

Please drink responsibly and please do not forward to anyone under the legal purchase age.