Agriland understands that around 150 Irish-based jobs at global drinks company, Diageo may be under threat.

It is believed that the roles may be impacted as part of an organisational change at the parent company of Guinness.

It is understood that the company, which owns other brands including Baileys, Smithwicks, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, has informed the Department of Enterprise about potential job cuts.

In Ireland, a company is legally required to inform the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if any job cuts reach the legal threshold for so-called "collective redundancies".

This must happen at least 30 days before the first redundancy occurs.

Jobs

Diageo currently employs over 1,200 people in Ireland across five main operations: brewing, production of liqueurs, marketing, sales, and commercial support.

The company has not formally confirmed how many jobs may be impacted by this decision.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Diageo told Agriland: "In February [Interims] we shared our intention to redesign our operating framework, to drive sustainable returns for shareholders by delivering a more competitive Diageo.

"We will always prioritise informing our colleagues of any organisational changes first and have committed to update shareholders on our progress at a Capital Markets Day on August 6."

Diageo

Last month, Diageo officially opened its new €300 million Littleconnell Brewery in Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

The state-of-the-art brewery will produce the company's range of beer, ales and lagers, including Carlsberg, Rockshore, Harp, Smithwick’s and Kilkenny.

The project, supported by Enterprise Ireland, accommodated around 650 jobs during construction and has created more than 50 permanent roles.

The brewery is part of Diageo’s €1 billion capital investment programme across the island of Ireland between 2020 and 2029.

The company also confirmed plans for a €400 million investment for the development of a second brewery at Littleconnell dedicated to the production of Guinness and Guinness 0.0.