Diageo unveils £1 billion three-year cost-saving plan

Diageo, the global spirits and beer giant, has announced a sweeping three-year plan to cut costs by 1 billion pounds as new chief executive Dave Lewis moves aggressively to reverse a period of declining sales and profits. The company outlined the strategy on Thursday, August 6, 2026, ahead of a detailed investor meeting.

The savings initiative, which represents a significant increase from a previous target of 625 million pounds, will be achieved through a redesign of the company's operating framework and supply chain improvements. Approximately 850 million pounds of the savings are expected to come from operational efficiencies, with the remaining 150 million pounds from supply chain initiatives. The restructuring will incur one-off costs of around 1.2 billion pounds. While the company has not confirmed the number of job losses, analysts estimate the plan could affect between 3,000 and 5,000 positions from its 30,000-strong workforce. The announcement follows recent warnings from unions in Scotland that 172 distillery workers are at risk of redundancy.

The plan was unveiled alongside the company's financial results for the year ended June 30, which showed a challenging period....