Diageo to close in Kilkenny and Dundalk

Quote :

Guinness manufacturer Diageo has announced it is to close its
brewing facilities in Dundalk and Kilkenny with the loss of up to 250
jobs.

The company intends to rejuvenate its St James's Gate Brewery in Dublin city and invest €650m in the historic site.

Diageo estimates that the sale of property and lands in Dundalk and Kilkenny will raise €500m.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0509/guinness.html?rss

Bad news for those involved, but I suspect much better news than might have been feared more generally. Great to see them staying in Dublin City as well. I can't think of anything worse than that historic site being 'redeveloped' into a few hundred thousand one bedroom apartments.

At least they're not moving it all to Nigeria... who produce fizzy Guinness

johnfás wrote:

Quote :

Guinness manufacturer Diageo has announced it is to close its
brewing facilities in Dundalk and Kilkenny with the loss of up to 250
jobs.

The company intends to rejuvenate its St James's Gate Brewery in Dublin city and invest €650m in the historic site.

Diageo estimates that the sale of property and lands in Dundalk and Kilkenny will raise €500m.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0509/guinness.html?rss

Bad news for those involved, but I suspect much better news than might have been feared more generally. Great to see them staying in Dublin City as well. I can't think of anything worse than that historic site being 'redeveloped' into a few hundred thousand one bedroom apartments.

At least they're not moving it all to Nigeria... who produce fizzy Guinness

They presumably have "lost" about 40% of the site value they would have achieved if they had gone a year ago...

Both of these sites were unsuited to modern brewery operations and frankly it is a shame they didn't move out ten years ago.

It is bad for the people losing jobs there: it is almost the last of steady manual and skilled work of that character in Kilkenny. People may need retraining and job club supports. Its come at the wrong time for them from the point of view of alternative employment.

There was a steady bleed of older manufacturing and food processing jobs that declined all through the boom.

Could there be any plus side?

May a thousand micro-breweries bloom!

cactus flower wrote:

May a thousand micro-breweries bloom!

Indeed! Especially if they have a source of good water.

I'll miss the whiff of hops around the town though it is not as strong as it used to be.

I used to drink smithwicks, but these days I am afraid to order it in case it is the first pint through the pipes in a long time.

Tims for the old joke about the man who fell into the vat of Guinness at the brewery and drowned to death. His stricken wife asked his boss was God merciful enough to grant him a quick death. "I'm afraid not," said his boss, "he got out three times to piss".