Irish Distillers to shed 28 jobs in Cork

TWENTY-EIGHT jobs are to go with the closure of the Irish Distillers' North Mall bottling plant in Cork City.

The company blamed the move on the loss of a key contract and the Government's 42% hike in excise duty in the 2003 budget, which it said caused whiskey sales to fall by 16% last year. Richard Burrows, joint chief executive of Groupe Pernod Ricard, Irish Distillers' parent, said the rising cost base in Ireland was a concern, but added that the company's remaining bottling facilities at Dublin's Fox and Geese and Bushmills, Co Antrim, were not under threat.

He expressed disappointment with the level of excise duty in Ireland, which he described as an "aberration".

Last year's increase saw over €4 added to a standard 20 bottle of spirits. The North Mall facility recently lost a contract to bottle Tullamore Dew whiskey on behalf of food and drinks group C&C, which accounted for the bulk of its operations.

The plant also bottled Irish Distillers' whiskey and gin brands, including Paddy, Jameson and Cork Dry Gin. Employees were told yesterday that production would finish at the end of May. The announcement came on the same day as Pernod Ricard said its worldwide sales of wine and spirits increased by 8% during 2003.

The company recorded turnover of €3.5 billion during the year, but singled out Ireland as one of just two countries where its sales declined.

Jameson is one of the group's star performers and saw global sales increase by 8% during the year. Mr Burrows said total Jameson sales were ahead by 11%, if the effects of the slump in Ireland were excluded.

Jameson did particularly well in the American market, where sales increased by 18%.

The United States is the biggest market for Jameson whiskey, which is the seventh-biggest brand in the Pernod Ricard portfolio.

Over 14 million litres of Jameson were sold last year.

Pernod Ricard suffered during the year from the euro's strength against the dollar, which the group said wiped €150 million off revenues. Mr Burrows said the exchange rate was a problem for the group but would not jeopardise its business.

He added the group had repaid the bulk of the debt it took on following the $8 billion (€6.5 billion) partial acquisition of North American drinks giant Seagram in 2001 and was well placed to examine further potential buys as a result.