The union representing workers at the soon-to-be-closed Crown Royal bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., says more than a third of the workforce has already left ahead of the Feb. 28 deadline.

International alcohol-maker Diageo announced its plan to shut down the facility last year and negotiated a closure agreement with members of the local union, giving workers enhanced benefits when they left their jobs.

John D’Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200, said while some employees retired, others managed to find work at the nearby Stellantis auto assembly plant in Windsor and various trades-related jobs connected to the union.

“We’re down to about 101 employees,” D’Agnolo told Global News. “Hopefully, we’ll get to the point where everybody’s employed.”

D’Agnolo said the province has been assisting the union by connecting workers with colleges and funding nearby action centres to train or reskill employees for other sectors.

Diageo’s decision to shut down the bottling plant triggered waves of anger from the Ford government, which promised to retaliate against the company by pulling Crown Royal from the LCBO, potentially denying the company millions of dollars in sales.

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While the premier said he would “100 per cent” follow through on the threat at the end of February, D’Agnolo said the union initially urged the premier to take action earlier in the fight.

“I signed a closure agreement because we didn’t have a choice. There was a deadline. Dec. 3 was the deadline,” D’Agnolo said.

Ahead of that deadline, however, the union met with the premier in Toronto and asked Ford to ramp up the pressure.

“I said, ‘I think it’d be a little bit more impactful if we did it right now. Let’s not wait,’” D’Agnolo said. “By Feb. 28, there’s not an employee in the building. It’s much easier when they stay in the building.”

Instead, Ford opted to escalate a war of words and promised to remove other Diageo products from the LCBO if the company didn’t reverse the decision.

The company ultimately chose to keep its facilities in Manitoba and Quebec in operation while shifting the Ontario bottling jobs stateside.

“(The premier’s) mindset was that they would change their mind, but they’re clearly calling his bluff and saying that we’re going to follow through with it,” D’Agnolo said.

The union stressed that, despite the outcome, it supports the Premier’s decision to remove the Crown Royal inventory from the provincial liquor agency and is calling on the government to go even further.

“I want them to pull out every Diageo product they have,” D’Agnolo said.

“It’s all about profits. People don’t change their minds in the corporate world until they lose money.”

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