Scotch whisky firm Chivas Brothers have announced their bottling plant in Paisley will be closing within the next three years.
The drinks company, which is part of the Pernod Ricard group, say they will transfer the current 460 Paisley staff to a new £40m state-of-the-art facility in Kilmalid, Dumbarton.
Chivas Brothers wants to build a new bottling hall and office at the Kilmalid site, with a target completion date of 2019.
Laurent Lacassagne, chair and CEO at Chivas Brothers, said: “Our proposal is the next step towards achieving our leadership ambition and is a clear signal that we see a strong future ahead for both the industry and our business.
“This £40 million investment will enhance and improve our operations and support the development of our global and iconic brands.
“This is a project of significant size and scale for Chivas Brothers which is why which we are announcing our proposal three years in advance.
“We want to provide ample opportunity to manage the transition of our business effectively and for our employees to adjust and adapt to working from a new site.”
Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire: “I am deeply disappointed to hear of the plans of Pernod Ricard to move their operations away from Paisley. Chivas Brothers have had a long and proud history in Paisley and it has become part of the fabric of the town.
“It will be of some comfort that there are no planned compulsory redundancies. However, locally there is undoubtedly a number of questions that still need to be answered and I will offer my immediate support to all those affected by this decision. I have already spoken with the CEO of Pernod Ricard and I will be looking to meet with local management and the trade unions as soon as possible to ascertain what can be done to help during this period of concern and upheaval.”
The company is at the beginning of a three year process and aims to start the transfer of operations and activities from Paisley to Kilmalid from 2018, creating an integrated operation by the end of 2019.
Chivas Brothers currently has 460 full-time employees at Paisley and 600 at Kilmalid.