Workers at Crown Royal bottling plant in southwestern Ontario ratify closure deal
Written by The Canadian Press on December 3, 2025
The union representing workers at a southwestern Ontario plant that bottles Crown Royal whisky says its members have voted to ratify a deal that gives them an increase in severance pay and other benefits.
Unifor Local 200 president John D’Agnolo says 89 per cent of workers at the Diageo plant in Amherstburg, Ont., voted in favour of a closure agreement the union negotiated with the employer.
D’Agnolo says the deal provides the 165 union members with extra pay on top of the severance pay they are entitled to under the collective agreement.
He says the deal also gives workers who are going to lose their jobs access to a program funded by the company to help them get education and write new resumes.
Diageo announced in August that it was planning to shut down the Crown Royal bottling plant at the end of February 2026.
The company has said the move was to improve its North American supply chain.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2025.
The Canadian Press