Natty Boh said goodbye to Maryland years ago. Now production of Guinness’ Baltimore Blonde is also leaving the state.
Diageo North America, Inc., the parent company for Guinness, filed notice that it will lay off 108 workers and shut down its plant in Relay in a work adjustment and retraining log submitted with the state. However, a spokeswoman for Guinness said around 97 roles would be impacted.
The news comes as Guinness prepares to open a Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Chicago, its second modern outpost in the United States. (Its Maryland plant was the first in the U.S. in more than 60 years.)
“After careful consideration and analysis of our supply footprint, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close our manufacturing facility in Relay, Maryland,” Diageo said in its statement. “In order to ensure long term sustainable growth for Diageo, we are optimizing our existing operations across North America to meet evolving consumer preferences.”
