Heaven Hill, home to brands including Elijah Craig Bourbon, has offered 14 employees at its Bardstown plant the “opportunity to volunteer for an early retirement incentive package”, according to chief production officer Debbie Morris.

“This is not a layoff,” she told Just Drinks. The employees account for roughly 1% of the company’s workforce and they are “long-tenured”.

Morris added: “This package is being offered as part of a new continuous improvement initiative within our Bardstown bottling operations intended to make the plant more efficient and flexible in a competitive industry.”

The Bardstown plant employed 246 workers before a surge in demand that began in 2020, at which point it jumped to 361.

“We had engaged the union leadership in what we hoped would be constructive dialogue about these plans, but they declined,” Morris said. “There is no reclassification of positions. Headcount adjustments are the result of our continuous improvement initiatives and necessary to remain competitive.

“Regarding the various filings made by the union, we believe they disregard the facts and are utterly without merits. While these matters are pending, we must refrain from further comment. Our focus remains on our employees and maintaining our commitment to their welfare while ensuring we continue to drive our business forward in an efficient manner.”

According to The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Heaven Hill announced a decision to “unilaterally impose job reclassifications on workers without bargaining with the union”.

UFCW Local 23D president Leslie Glazar said: “Heaven Hill proposed a plan that would significantly cut union jobs and have a massive impact on all distillery workers. Instead of meeting their legal obligation to bargain with the union, the company has chosen to illegally bypass us by going directly to workers and imposing their changes.

“Let’s make one thing clear: we will take every legal step available to fight for our members, whether Heaven Hill likes it or not. When workers stand together, we win, and we will not let this company strong-arm us into letting go of the very workers that keep this bottling plant running.”

In January, the distiller shut the bottling site for its Canadian whisky brand Black Velvet. The family-owned company said the distilling operation for Black Velvet at the site in the Canadian city of Lethbridge will remain open. Some 20 staff will be affected by the closure of the bottling facility.