Scottish executive accused of deserting Diageo

Alex Salmond this evening stands accused of failing Scottish workers at the Diageo bottling plant in Ayrshire which is closing with the loss of 700 jobs. After launching a scathing attack on the management of Diageo, during which Alex Salmond claimed his government had not been informed of the move despite holding seven meetings with the company this year, he has attracted a ferocious response from the directors and management of Diageo.



The company claims that despite finding out about these substantial job losses earlier this week the authorities have done nothing to try and influence the situation which could see 700 jobs lost. However it now seems as though the Scottish executive is looking to become more involved with a meeting planned with Diageo in the short term. This is not the first time that Diageo has threatened to move bottling operations away from Scotland, with a similar plan avoided 10 years ago prior to the creation of the Scottish executive.



This particular move by Diageo comes at a time when the Scottish economy is suffering more than any in the UK amid signs that a recovery in some way off and could be significantly slower than in other parts of the UK.