Diageo to Cut Operations at Stitzel-Weller

Diageo has announced plans to close its bottling operation at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery campus in Louisville this April, with 33 workers to lose their jobs. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, the drinks giant plans to move bottling operations from the distillery to other sites around the United States.

While the distillery itself closed in 1992, the site has been used for warehousing maturing whiskies and bottling, along with its more recent role as a visitors center for Blade and Bow Bourbon, I.W. Harper Bourbon, Orphan Barrel, and other brands. The visitor experience will remain open, but Diageo plans to phase out warehousing at Stitzel-Weller over the next two years as the site’s inventory of maturing whiskey is depleted. The distillery produces a small amount of whiskey for Blade and Bow, and that work will continue along with maturation of the whiskey, which is sold exclusively at the Stitzel-Weller Bourbon Experience.

In a statement, a Diageo spokesperson explained that the company is trying to streamline its supply chain.

“This decision is part of a broader multi-year program to strengthen Diageo’s supply chain by improving productivity, resilience, and agility. As such, over the next 2-3 years we will also be shifting the majority of maturing and warehousing operations from Stitzel-Weller to Diageo’s other Kentucky facilities, in Shelbyville and Lebanon.

Through these sites in the heart of bourbon country, homes to Bulleit bourbon, we will continue to invest in Kentucky’s economy while contributing to the local tourism and hospitality sectors. We remain committed to supporting workforce programs, local charitable organizations, institutions of higher education, and environmental organizations in the region.”

This story has been updated with additional details, including a statement from Diageo.