JANUARY 19, 2025 — 648 EMPLOYEES TARGETED, COOPERAGE CLOSURE
Facing economic headwinds, declining sales, and rising costs, the company plans to restructure, including its barrel-making operation, Brown-Forman Cooperage, in Louisville, Kentucky.
These initiatives include restructuring the executive leadership team, implementing a workforce reduction that will affect approximately 12% of the company’s global workforce, and closing the Louisville-based Brown‑Forman Cooperage.
According to a company statement…
“In 2025, Brown‑Forman celebrates 155 years of delivering Nothing Better in the Market. We have achieved this impressive milestone in part because of our relentless focus on evolving our strategy, our portfolio, and our organization to grow and thrive,” said Lawson Whiting, President & Chief Executive Officer. “Today’s announcement will ensure we have the structure and teams in place to continue on this path, while also making investments that we believe will facilitate growth for generations to come.”
To enhance operational efficiency and agility, Brown‑Forman has made the difficult decision to reduce its global workforce by approximately 12% of its 5,400 employees worldwide. Brown‑Forman is deeply committed to supporting departing employees with comprehensive transition agreements that include severance, outplacement services, and other benefits to help them through this career change.
This organizational evolution will simplify and streamline Brown‑Forman’s structure, allowing it to become a more agile and efficient organization and reinvest in the capabilities, technologies, brands, and people that will drive future growth
Brown‑Forman will close its Louisville-based barrel-making operation, Brown‑Forman Cooperage, by April 25, 2025. This closure, which will impact approximately 210 hourly and salaried employees, is part of the overall 12% workforce reduction. Brown‑Forman will offer severance, outplacement services, and benefits consistent with their terms of employment.
Moving forward, Brown‑Forman will source barrels from an external supplier to ensure a steady supply of the same high-quality barrels at a competitive price.
I want to express my sincere gratitude to our employees, particularly those impacted by these changes, for their dedication and contributions to Brown‑Forman," said Whiting. "We are committed to supporting them through this transition and are confident that these strategic initiatives will ensure the company endures for generations to come."
FEBRUARY 2, 2021 -- Original post…
Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown–Forman Corporation, a major spirits and wine distiller and distributor, has announced that the company will be moving its bottling operations from its Derby City bottling facility in Louisville, Kentucky, to Lynchburg, Tennesee. The move will impact approximately 40 employees who will be permanently laid off.
The decision to bottle Jack Daniel's Honey and Apple flavors was driven by the transportation savings from moving bulk liquor from the Jack Daniels factory in Lynchburg to Louisville.
According to a company spokesperson, "We made this decision for business reasons — doing so eliminates the transportation cost of moving the liquid from Lynchburg to Louisville and increases efficiency. The moving of bottling volumes within our network is not unusual, as this product has previously been bottled at both locations, but these decisions are never easy to make."
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?