The Kintyre Forum

Hoots the scoop at Springbank? Have people lost their jobs? Heard tonight people have been paid off???

Apparently this is correct. Changed days since Campbeltown was the whisky capital of the world!

hoots the scoop wrote:Hoots the scoop at Springbank? Have people lost their jobs? Heard tonight people have been paid off???

EMDEE wrote:Apparently this is correct. Changed days since Campbeltown was the whisky capital of the world!

I do not want to say to much at the moment as my daughter works there, but no one has been payed off at this moment. There are options open to employee's and more info may be available at a later date.

As a consequence of the continuing instability of basic raw material prices, which have doubled within the last year, the management of J & A Mitchell and Company Ltd. have decided to cut back the production of new spirit at their Springbank and Glengyle Distilleries until prices settle. The state of the materials market will be kept under continuous review.

The opportunity will be taken to carry out necessary maintenance work and create the increased warehousing accommodation required for future development. In the short term there will however, regrettably, be a few staff redundancies. There will be no impact on the availability of bottled Springbank whisky or the Kilkerran whisky from its Glengyle Distillery as the Company has ample stocks of young maturing whisky which will enable it to continue supplying its home and export markets as normal.

Chairman
J & A Mitchell and Company Ltd.


It was felt by the company that NO press announcement should be made, until all staff at the distillery had been informed
of the situation ( and the reasons )for the cut in production at Springbank and Glengyle Distilleries.
The company asked the Courier,NOT to print anything about the "story" out of respect. for the employees of the company,who would be affected by the decision.
The company would give the Courier a full and frank statement, after the staff had been informed.
But sinking to the depths of the tabloid gutter press, the Courier printed a front page story, about Springbank, peppered with rumor speculation and miss-information...Anything for a story, bugger the truth!
It is hoped the the prices of oil ( for heating the boilers ) and Barley settle soon and the company will once again start to distil.
The company hopes that this will be early next year,albeit with a reduced staff.
The redundancies of the seven members of staff, was something the company deeply regrets , but the rising costs
made it impossible to avoid.
It is hoped that we are able to return to full employment by 2010, when the company restarts a Full production program.

Surely the Courier is a local paper reporting local news? Didn't know they had to get your permission to report on a story people are interested in?

Sad news however and I hope the Government do something to improve the ridiculous situation you are in.

mrn wrote:Surely the Courier is a local paper reporting local news? Didn't know they had to get your permission to report on a story people are interested in?

Sad news however and I hope the Government do something to improve the ridiculous situation you are in.

They don't need our permission to print anything..But as all there key points are WRONG! It might have kept the locals
better informed If they had waited until the staff were informed.. and then printed the true story.
1) Max 7 people layed off NOT MIN
2)Oil Barley transport price rises NOT Duty
3)January Distillation means no production for 6months NOT 2 years

But I remember a puma in the hills around the toon, not that long ago, wonder if the Courier got the cats permission to doctor
its photo and call it a Puma! Ho-Ho

Hootsmon wrote:But I remember a puma in the hills around the toon, not that long ago, wonder if the Courier got the cats permission to doctor
its photo and call it a Puma! Ho-Ho

Good one!

Govangirl wrote:

Hootsmon wrote:But I remember a puma in the hills around the toon, not that long ago, wonder if the Courier got the cats permission to doctor
its photo and call it a Puma! Ho-Ho

Good one!

Glad you can both have a laugh at the expense of people who have just lost their job.

The fact remains that the Courier tried to bring a story to readers. If they said a minimum of 7 then they didn't get it wrong did they and the other points are hardly worth moaning about when people have lost their jobs?

Maybe the courier has shot itself in the foot with one of its` main advertisers?

mrn wrote:[
Glad you can both have a laugh at the expense of people who have just lost their job.

The fact remains that the Courier tried to bring a story to readers. If they said a minimum of 7 then they didn't get it wrong did they and the other points are hardly worth moaning about when people have lost their jobs?

You're right, mrn, I hope you will accept my apology. I wasn't laughing at the situation but thought Hootsmon was right in what he was saying. I agree that the staff had every right to know before it went to the paper, story or no story but I'm sorry if you thought I was trivialising it.

I was not , never have ,nor will laugh a people loosing their jobs.
I still insist that the important people, the staff at Springbank, Should have
been told their fate first, before reading it in the Courier,
regardless of anyone else in the toon wanting to know hoots the scoop!
and the scoop was WRONG!
The rest of the info was important, if not to the reader,then to the remaining staff
who want to know the rest of them are safe!
The Ho=Ho at the end of the puma story was sarcasm!


,

See its online in Sunday Herald

http://www.sundayherald.com/news/herald ... s_grim.php

Wee Toon Ajax wrote:See its online in Sunday Herald

http://www.sundayherald.com/news/herald ... s_grim.php

Some interesting quotes in that article:

Mark Reynier, managing director of the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay, said it was an "odd decision from a very odd bunch of people".

He said: "They are not like other businesses. Maybe they decided they just could not be bothered."

Scoop wrote:

Mark Reynier, managing director of the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay, said it was an "odd decision from a very odd bunch of people".
He said: "They are not like other businesses. Maybe they decided they just could not be bothered."

What a charrmer Mr Reynier is!! I take it this book is not in his library



Did he REALLY say that? surely not....

I'm very sure Mark Reynier did say that to the press and why not? It isn't far from the truth as i'm sure anybody in that companies current employ and in the past shall be able to tell you.

It doesn't take too much research to find that the demand for whisky is ever increasing and new markets developing in Russia, India and China to name a few, so what is going wrong/different at this distillery? Especially considering that Glen Scotia is considering increasing it's distillation(as rumours are heard) Surely they can see that it doesn't portray a positive image for the distillery by painting doom and gloom whilst the rest of the industry is increasing distillation.

What sort of effect shall it have on sales? Positive perhaps as customers may believe bottlings could become a rare sighting, an exclusive purchase........i wonder.

In any case best of luck to those who now find themselves seeking new employment.