Diageo halts production at Balcones and George Dickel
Diageo has temporarily ceased whiskey production at its Balcones and George Dickel distilleries with the loss of 17 jobs, as it re-evaluates its ‘productivity goals’, The Spirits Business can reveal.
Distilling and barrel-filling operations at Balcones distillery in Waco, Texas, were halted in August, with 17 roles impacted by the pause.
Meanwhile, the Cascade Hollow distillery at Diageo’s Tullahoma facility in Tennessee, which produces George Dickel whiskey, has also been temporarily closed with no job losses.
The visitor centres at both distilleries remain open for tours and tastings.
A spokesperson for Diageo North America said: “Every year we run standard temporary slowdowns or shutdowns across our operations to support our efficiency and productivity goals.
“Since we are ahead of schedule with the volume we produce at the site, this year we decided to temporarily pause our distilling operations and barrel-filling activity through June 2026.
“During this time, employees will work on strategic projects, conduct trainings to continue building capabilities and maintenance processes to position our sites for a successful start of our next fiscal year.”
The move follows the ‘extended pause on distillation’ earlier this year at Diageo’s Dublin distillery, Roe & Co, which prompted the departure of master distiller Lora Hemy.
The Spirits Business understands all team leaders at Balcones, including head distiller Jared Himstedt, blender Emma Crandall, blending manager Gabriel RiCharde, brand education manager Alex Elrod and national brand ambassador Charlie McRae, as well as Nicole Austin, director of American whiskey liquid development at George Dickel, remain in their positions.
Diageo also pauses production at Teaninich
As well as pausing production at Roe & Co, Balcones and George Dickel, Diageo also confirmed production has halted at its Scottish distillery Teaninich ‘in line with our normal inventory management processes to ensure we balance production with long-term demand’.
It’s understood the Speyside site is the only Scotch distillery in Diageo’s portfolio to be affected by the company’s production slowdown.
In March, Diageo paused production and barrel filling at its carbon-neutral whiskey distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky, again stating it was ‘ahead of schedule with the volume we produce at the site’.
In January it also announced its decision to consolidate its bottling operations at Stitzel-Weller with other Diageo-owned facilities in Shelbyville and Lebanon ‘as part of a broader multi-year programme to strengthen Diageo’s supply chain by improving productivity, resilience, and agility’.
Last month it confirmed its Crown Royal bottling operation in Ontario, Canada, would also close by February 2026.
Furthermore, the company’s Northern Ireland arm will axe approximately 60 roles as it looks to outsource some commercial operations roles to India.
The closures come as Diageo increased its operational cost-cutting programme by US$125 million to US$625m during its full-year fiscal 2025 results in August. At the time, interim CEO Nik Jhangiani confirmed ‘there will be some [job cuts]’ as Diageo looks to ‘freeing up resources and dollars where we can reinvest for the business’.
“We do not take these decisions lightly, and we recognise the impact on our employees,” a Diageo spokesperson added. “For those affected, we are providing support in the form of severance packages, outplacement assistance, and employee assistance resources, as well as information on open roles across our organisation.”
Balcones distillery was founded in 2008 by Chip Tate. It was acquired by Diageo in 2022 and described at the time by Claudia Schubert, president for Diageo North America, as “true innovators and pioneers in the emerging American single malt and Texas whiskey movements, and their super-premium-plus whiskies are highly complementary to our whisky portfolio”.
The Balcones visitor centre, which remains open, has welcomed more than 25,000 visitors since 2024.
Related news
Two Trees to boost production fivefold
