LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Brown-Forman Corp. will cut 30 to 40 jobs from its Louisville bottling plant as the company shifts work to Tennessee.
The plant, located within the company’s corporate campus in Louisville’s California neighborhood, employs about 160 rank-and-file workers represented by Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville.
Employees were informed of the move last week.
The Louisville-based liquor giant said it will move the bottling of Honey- and Apple-flavored Jack Daniels Tennessee Whisky from the Louisville plant to Lynchburg, Tennessee, where Jack Daniels is distilled and aged.
“We made this decision for business reasons -- doing so eliminates the transportation cost of moving the liquid from Lynchburg to Louisville and increases efficiency,” Brown-Forman spokeswoman Elizabeth Conway said in an email. “The moving of bottling volumes within our network is not unusual, as this product has previously been bottled at both locations, but these decisions are never easy to make. We will ensure the support services outlined in their contracts are provided.”
The Louisville plant bottles other Brown-Forman products, such as Old Forester bourbon.
Stephen Piercey, a spokesman for Teamsters Local 89, declined to comment, citing ongoing contract negotiations between the company and union.
