Another alcohol company with ties to Kentucky bourbon announces layoffs
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- Molson Coors will cut about 400 salaried jobs, 9% of its Americas workforce.
- Acquired 75% of Blue Run in 2023; its $51M Georgetown distillery never began.
- Industry faces layoffs, falling whiskey demand, export slumps and barrel glut.
Another major alcohol company has announced big layoffs, the latest in a wave of financial trouble in the U.S. spirits industry.
Chicago and Montreal-based Molson Coors said Monday it plans to eliminate about 400 salaried positions across its Americas business by the end of December 2025, including hundreds of open positions, as part of a restructuring.
The plan “will result in the reduction of about 9% of its Americas business salaried workforce,” according to a news release.
Molson Coors is the parent company of Coors Light and Miller Lite beers, as well as Blue Run Spirits, Five Trail whiskey and more. The publicly traded company is the second-largest beer maker in the U.S.
It’s unclear exactly how Kentucky-based Blue Run could be impacted; Molson Coors acquired a 75% stake in Blue Run Spirits for an undisclosed amount in August 2023.
Blue Run launched in October 2020, and its boutique releases often sold out in minutes online. In March 2023, Blue Run announced plans to build an innovative $51 million distillery in Lanes Run Business Park in Georgetown with a design by the same architecture firm that did Google’s headquarters.
That was supposed to open in 2025, but construction never began.
In a news release announcing the restructuring, Molson Coors said it planned to reinvest in its “priority brands and must-win initiatives,” including its beer portfolio and adjacent categories “such as premium mixers, non-alcohol beverages and energy drinks.”
Blue Run was not mentioned in the release, and a spokesman for the brand did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We’ve made progress on our transformation journey, but given the environment, we must transform even faster. To win with our customers and consumers and return to growth, we must move with urgency and make bolder decisions,” Molson Coors President and Chief Executive Officer Rahul Goyal said in the release. “We are moving quickly and intentionally on a long-term, achievable strategy that continues our journey to become a total beverage company and that we believe puts us on the path to sustainable growth. We look forward to sharing more detail on this strategy in the coming months.”
Bourbon industry in a slump
As the alcohol industry struggles to cope with uncertainties over consumer spending, tariff volatility and slumping demand, several major companies, including major players in the bourbon industry, have laid off workers and paused production.
- In January, Louisville-based Brown-Forman announced it was laying off 12% of its workforce — about 650 people — and closing its Louisville cooperage amid slowing whiskey sales.
- In February, Campari Group, parent of Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg and Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville, announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce, about 500 jobs.
- In August, Diageo, parent of Bulleit Bourbon, said it planned to cut an unspecified number of jobs as part of a plan to save $625 million over the next three years.
- In October, Kentucky barrel maker Independent Stave cut 110 jobs at its Lebanon plant.
- Meanwhile, Garrard County Distillery is closed and in receivership; Luca Mariano is in bankruptcy. Georgetown bourbon Limestone Farms Distillery is facing a lawsuit and $2 million in liens, while Tennessee whiskey maker Nearest Green has been placed in receivership owing more than $108 million to a Kentucky lender.
- Several distilleries have slowed or temporarily halted production as American whiskey-making hits its lowest level since 2019. Exports have slumped amid President Trump’s trade war and the glut of barrels with bourbon sitting in Kentucky warehouses hit an all-time high 16.1 million.
