�Mood music from the company is very different from when they announced Kilmarnock closure�By Scottish Political Editor Tom Gordon
MINISTERS were last night hopeful of a compromise deal to avert the closure of the threatened Diageo plant in Kilmarnock. As pressure intensified on the drinks giant not to end its historic ties with the Ayrshire town and axe 700 jobs, the SNP government said it believed Diageo would actively consider alternatives short of a total shutdown.
A source close to Alex Salmond, the first minister, said the "mood music was very, very different from Wednesday", when staff first learned they were out of jobs.
However, the company last night said closure remained its "firm recommendation".
Paul Walsh, Diageo's chief executive, is due to fly to China this week to discuss the Scotch whisky industry with government ministers, and is scheduled to meet Salmond on his return.
A source close to the first minister said: "We start from the first principle that Diageo is hugely profitable. The Kilmarnock plant is profitable in its own right. Diageo have a business case for closure which they have promised to share with ministers and the trade unions.
"Once officials and ministers have had a proper chance to look at that, we can start talking seriously about alternatives.
"The mood has changed in the last 48 hours given that the company has now given a commitment to consider alternatives."
According to its latest half-year accounts, Diageo made a profit of £1.64billion in the six months to the end of December, raising earnings per share by 21%.
Diageo says the restructuring is necessary to expand its business and ensure long-term profits.
A total of 900 jobs are to be cut in Kilmarnock and Glasgow, though this will be partially offset by 400 new jobs at its packaging plant in Leven in Fife.
Overall, the Scottish workforce is due to shrink from 4500 to 4000.
The company, the world's biggest drinks firm, has been attacked by politicians of all parties who fear its plans could cause irreparable damage to the whole of Kilmarnock, where it is the largest private employer.
The town has been synonymous with Diageo's most famous whisky, Johnnie Walker, since it was first bottled by a local grocer in 1820.
A petition launched on Friday against the closures gathered more than 2000 signatures within 24 hours, half made through the Kilmarnock FC website, and half at the Park Hotel next to the club and the town centre Willie Coffey, the Nationalist MSP for Kilmarnock, said: "This petition will send a message loud and clear to Diageo that Johnnie Walker cannot walk away from Kilmarnock.
"Without its Kilmarnock roots there is no Johnnie Walker.
"The overwhelming response from people in Kilmarnock and across the country is a huge support to those at the plant now fearing for their future."
In a pincer movement against the company, a second petition will be launched in Glasgow tomorrow calling for the retention of the 200-year-old Port Dundas distillery and Dundashill cooperage, where 140 jobs are under threat.
Patricia Ferguson, Labour MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, said Diageo was trying to "divide communities across Scotland" by promising some areas new jobs while it was cutting back elsewhere. The business case for closing Port Dundas is as flawed as for closing Kilmarnock.
"This is a profitable business but the company's sole aim is to make even more profit at the expense of the jobs of local people.
"Diageo cannot be allowed to get away with dividing communities across Scotland like this.
"They talk of relocation, but how are people in Glasgow going to get jobs at the Alloa or Leven sites?"
A Diageo spokesman said: "Our position is very clear. It was a difficult announcement last week.
"We have just started a formal consultation process with the unions. The proposed restructuring is our firm recommendation for the outcome of our recent review."
