Strike threat 'won't hit Guinness supply'

A threatened strike by employees at Guinness won’t lead to a shortage of the black stuff, Diageo Ireland said this afternoon.

In a statement the group said that it was "extremely disappointed" at the news that members of the Guinness Staff Union (GSU) are to ballot for strike action in relation to revised severance terms for employees.

The company said it has been in ongoing discussion with the union and claimed that at no point did the GSU indicate an intention to ballot for industrial action.

Diageo introduced new severance terms for staff at the beginning of the year. It claims that under the deal, employees will receive better cash payments in the event of redundancy.

The firm said that the revised arrangements are "in no way" related to an assessment the group is currently carrying out on its brewing operations in Ireland.

"While these arrangements are different from what were available in the past they remain very generous when compared to those being offered by other leading companies," the company said.

"Notwithstanding these developments, Diageo does not believe these matters will lead to a shortage of supply of Guinness in Ireland or elsewhere as speculated in media reports," it added.

The results of the GSU ballot are due on May 8th.