By Blake Jackson
Brown-Forman Corp., a leading spirits manufacturer, announced a series of strategic initiatives aimed at driving future growth. These include workforce reductions, the closure of its Louisville cooperage, and a restructuring of its executive leadership team.
Approximately 650 employees, representing 12% of the company's global workforce, will be laid off. Brown-Forman will provide support to these employees through severance packages, outplacement services, and other benefits.
The closure of the Louisville cooperage, scheduled for April 25, 2025, will impact approximately 210 employees. Brown-Forman will source barrels from external suppliers following the closure.
The company anticipates these initiatives will generate annual cost savings of $70 million to $80 million, a portion of which will be reinvested in growth strategies. The sale of the cooperage's assets is expected to yield over $30 million in proceeds.
Several executive leadership changes have also been implemented. Jeremy Shepherd has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer. Michael Masick will assume the role of President, Americas, in addition to his current responsibilities.
Yiannis Pafilis will expand his oversight to include Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and global travel retail. Chris Graven will join the executive leadership team as Chief Strategy Officer.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-ben-goode
Categories: Kentucky, General