This is VinePair’s Booze News Weekly Roundup, where we gather the hottest headlines and product releases every Friday for a snapshot of what’s happening in the beverage alcohol industry. This week, we have updates on Diageo slashing its workforce by six percent, Samuel Adams workers’ intent to unionize, the latest product releases, and more.

News to know:

  • Americans’ drinking rate remains at rock bottom: A Gallup poll found 54 percent of drinking-age Americans consume alcohol, the same rate as last year’s record low since 1939. The analytics and advisory firm included a question on nonalcoholic beverage consumption for the first time in its annual survey and found only 17 percent of U.S. citizens substituted a zero-proof wine, beer, or spirit for an alcoholic drink at least once in the past year.
  • Diageo cuts roughly 2,000 jobs in restructuring plan: The global spirits giant slimmed its workforce by six percent year-over-year through the end of June, according to its annual report. The results come after Diageo chief executive officer Dave Lewis denied to disclose the number of roles the overhaul would affect when announcing a $1 billion savings plan involving reducing prices and cutting jobs. According to Reuters, the company is set to complete its workforce reduction by Sept. 1, meaning it’s possible the number of impacted jobs can increase.
  • Boston Beer Company workers plan to unionize: Employees at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery in Jamaica Plain, Mass. — Boston Beer Co.’s first and flagship brewery — filed an intent to unionize to the parent company last Thursday. Workers included in the possible union include bartenders, cooks, beer ambassadors, and key holders, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 328, who first reported on the filing. The organization would be the second Samuel Adams location with a union.
  • Sazerac to ink a deal with Welsh vodka brand: The Louisville, Ky.-based spirits company agreed to acquire Au Vodka, a buzzy brand in the U.K., for a reported £500 million ($681 million). Au Vodka will join Sazerac’s portfolio well-stocked in brands geared toward Gen Z drinkers like BuzzBallz and sipMARGS.

Product releases to watch:

  • Pernod Ricard ships Single Pot Still Jameson to U.S. shores: Jameson, the leading Irish whiskey brand by volume, is debuting its Distiller’s Batch bottling in American markets. Distiller’s Batch is part of the brand’s premium Reserve Series and will be available nationwide in September.
  • Sazerac forays into soju: The American spirits conglomerate is entering the soju category with the launch of DAHLO, as demand for the Korean liquor is on the rise. DAHLO’s inaugural flavors are original, peach, strawberry, and lychee, and each 375-milliliter bottle retails for around $5.99.

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