Brown-Forman, the Louisville-based maker of spirits including Jack Daniels, Old Forester and Woodford Reserve, announced Tuesday it plans to shed 12% of its global workforce.
Hundreds of these jobs are in Louisville.
Lawson Whiting, president and CEO, said in a news release the 155-year-old company has persisted, in part, due to a “relentless focus on evolving our strategy, our portfolio, and our organization to grow and thrive.”
“Today’s announcement will ensure we have the structure and teams in place to continue on this path, while also making investments that we believe will facilitate growth for generations to come,” Whiting said.
Here’s what we know about Tuesday’s announcement.
The announcement comes as the spirits industry sees an overall slowdown and the specter of impending tariffs.
Bourbon, a key industry in Kentucky for economic development and tourism, has experienced a post-pandemic slow down, as Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers Association, told the Courier Journal.
“It’s been interesting to see, because we’ve also got a slowdown in sales happening, there is no doubt about it, we are having a market correction right now to get back to where we were before COVID,” Gregory said.
Brown-Forman, in its announcement, said its layoff plans will help it “simplify and streamline” its organizational structure and will bring “operational efficiency and agility,” according to a release. It did not cite additional reasons behind the cuts.
The American Whiskey industry, of which Kentucky bourbon is a key part, is also facing a return of 50% tariffs imposed by the European Union on its products in late March. The anticipation of the tariffs is causing “anxiety” among distillers, Chris Swonger, president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, told the Courier Journal.
With a workforce of about 5,400 people worldwide, a 12% reduction would translate to about 650 people. As of April 2024, the company said it employed about 1,100 people in Louisville.
The company did not fully detail where those layoffs will happen, though Brown-Forman did announce Tuesday it will close its cooperage in Louisville, where it has approximately 210 employees. A company spokeswoman noted additional Louisville-based positions are affected.
Employees are being notified Jan. 14 and the restructuring will be completed by the end of the fiscal year, the spokeswoman added.
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Those who’ve lost their jobs will be provided “severance, outplacement services, and other benefits,” according to the company.
A cooperage is the workplace of a barrel or cask maker, called a cooper. Brown-Forman’s cooperage in Louisville at 402 MacLean Ave., sits off Crittenden Drive, just to the west of the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
The facility opened in 1945. In 2017, the company announced a $45-million modernization project at the facility that updated equipment and reduced workforce there by about 70 people.
At the time, Brown-Forman said its workers made over 2,500 barrels daily at the site.
The shuttering of the production facility will save the company approximately $70 million to $80 million each year and will bring in over $30 million in sales from its assets there, the company noted in its release.
A portion of those dollars will be reinvested “to accelerate growth,” according to Brown-Forman.
Bourbon barrel tops to be used at the Brown-Forman Cooperage. Jan. 28, 2020
Kentuckians are perhaps most familiar with the company’s bourbon offerings, which include Woodford Reserve and Old Forester.
But the company also has a slew of other sprits in its portfolio, including el Jimador, Korbel, Benriach, Diplomático Rum, Chambord, and Fords Gin, among others.
Reach growth and development reporter Matthew Glowicki at mglowicki@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4000.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Brown-Forman to cut 12% of its workforce. What we know about layoffs