All S&N brewing under review
No guarantees are being given over the future of other Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) sites in the wake of the decision to shut the Fountain Brewery in Edinburgh.
The brewing giant has strongly denied union claims that it "blatantly lied" to workers two years ago, when it said a previous round of job cuts would secure the medium to long-term future of the Fountain site.
To avoid further hostage-to-fortune statements that could be used against the company, S&N has made it clear that all options are being considered in its efforts to squeeze £45m in cost savings from the UK operation.
That includes cutbacks or closure of the Tyne brewery site in Newcastle, as well as breweries in Reading, Manchester and Tadcaster.
The Transport & General Worker's Union (T&G) seized on the 2002 statement by Fountain Brewery production director Dave Rutherford that 170 job cuts would "secure a medium to long-term future for this site".
Ray Wilson, senior regional organiser for the T&G, said: "We feel that workers were blatantly lied to."
Nigel Pollard, spokesman for Scottish Courage, said the statement showed that the company has been fully committed to trying to make the Fountain site a commercial success. He said: "In an industry as dynamic as this, 18 months to two years is a long time."
Mr Pollard also confirmed a statement by group chief executive Tony Froggatt that there can be no guarantee about the Tyne Brewery, also rumoured to be under the shadow of the axe, or any other S&N sites.
Mr Pollard said: "All our operations are under review. We do not comment on market speculation because we believe that the people most affected by any change, our employees, should hear it through us and not the media."
Related articles:
S&N 'lied' to workers over brewery closure (23 February 2004)
Anger over S&N's decision to close historic brewery (19 February 2004)
S&N confirms closure of Fountainbridge Brewery (17 February 2004)
S&N to close Scottish brewery (16 February 2004)
