Jameson bottle makers to strike over job cuts
Workers at glass manufacturing and logistics firm Encirc will go on strike this month over proposed job cuts that they claim will ‘create safety issues’.
UK-based Encirc manufactures and fills glass bottles for a wide variety of high-profile alcoholic and no- and low-alcohol brands, including Jameson and Baileys.
The business employs almost 2,000 people and produces more than three billion glass containers annually for global brands.
Now, up to 100 Unite union members, based at Encirc’s Elton site in Cheshire, England, are taking action over proposed redundancies at the firm.
It is reported that Encirc is looking to reduce its headcount by 28 people.
The roles expected to be impacted by redundancies include maintenance staff, and workers who produce the glass containers and bottles for the filling hall where beverages are bottled and packaged.
Workers say losing this number of staff will negatively impact workers’ stress levels, increase workloads and create safety issues.
The union said redundancy proposals come despite Encirc being profitable.
Encirc’s parent company, Vidrala, recently reported its full-year results for 2025, seeing a strong market performance with a net profit exceeding £192 million (US$257m).
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “A profitable company such as Encirc should be investing in its hardworking staff, not making them redundant. It is high time Encirc stopped prioritising greed. Our members there have our full support during this dispute.”
Strikes are set to take place on 28-30 March and 3-7 April.
The union said industrial action will have a significant impact on the supply of bottles or containers from the Elton site, and will create shortages of popular brands in the next few months.
Unite regional officer Andrew Johnson said: “Encirc has still time to halt this disruptive strike action, but that relies on management coming back to negotiations with alternatives.
“Unite is committed to protecting jobs at Encirc and we will continue to fight these redundancy plans every step of the way.”
In December 2025, it was reported that Encirc was undertaking a restructuring programme, as the company faced what it described as “very challenging” market conditions across the UK glass sector.
A spokesperson for Encirc explained that the wider industry was grappling with a combination of high operating costs, tightening legislation and pressure from low-cost imports.
“While we are well placed in our sector, the glass industry continues to navigate some very challenging UK market conditions.
“The packaging tax known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the influx of unsustainable low-cost imports, and high energy costs are key factors contributing to this.”
No bottle shortages
Encirc has said that Unite’s warnings about bottle shortages as a result of these strikes are unfounded.
A spokesperson for the company said in a statement: “There will certainly not be any bottle shortages. We will mitigate against any consequence this action will have, and do not anticipate any impact to our supply chain.”
The statement added that the company was ‘surprised’ by the strike action because the restructuring process has been happening throughout its UK businesses for the past nine months, and is now almost at an end.
Encirc said the majority of those people impacted have already left the business, with most opting for voluntary redundancy packages.
Encirc added: “In the UK we are up against some of the highest energy prices in the world, reduced demand due to a cost-of-living crisis, and a new packaging tax (EPR) that is detrimental to glass. We had no choice but to change and adapt to these challenges.”
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