Drinks firm Diageo could be given financial incentives to keep a closure threatened packaging plant open, an SNP councillor said today.

Drinks firm Diageo could be given financial incentives to keep a closure threatened packaging plant open, an SNP councillor said today.

Jim Buchanan, East Ayrshire Council's regeneration spokesman, said politicians were united in the fight to save the Johnnie Walker packing plant at Kilmarnock.

As part of that he said financial incentives to keep the site open could be considered.

Last week Diageo announced plans to close the Kilmarnock plant, with the loss of 700 jobs.

Trade union leaders today said they could not rule out strike action in a bid to save the jobs.

And speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Buchanan said: "We are going to come up with a viable and realistic option to keep Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock."

He added: "We have got to take Diageo on in this one and persuade them to stay in Kilmarnock with Johnnie Walker.

"If they need financial incentives then obviously that is something we would consider, and hopefully be able to put forward as a viable package."

Mr Buchanan said that the council would be organising a mass demonstration against the closure plans at the end of the month.

And Jim Winter of the Unite trade union told BBC Radio Scotland strike action could not be ruled out.

Mr Winter said: "It's always going to be an option. We rule nothing out, we rule nothing in.

"We hope it won't come to that, we hope that with the assistance of local politicians we can reverse this decision."

Meanwhile Mr Buchanan hit out at Diageo over the manner in which the closure plans were announced.

He said: "The first that anybody knew about this in East Ayrshire Council or the Scottish Government was the press release we received on Wednesday morning."

And he said the local authority was "disappointed and disgusted in the way Diageo have handled this business"

However he said that politicians from all parties on the council were working with the Scottish Government and Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP Des Browne in a bid to reverse the decision.

Diageo's proposals could mean 900 workers losing their jobs through the axing of the Johnnie Walker packaging plant and the closure of the Port Dundas grain distillery in Glasgow.

The job losses would, however, be partly offset by the creation of 400 jobs at a packaging plant in Fife.