Distillery layoffs send shudders across remote Scottish island

When Scotland's windswept Isle of Harris welcomed its first commercial distillery a decade ago, it was about more than just whisky.

Since 2015 the Harris Distillery has enabled dozens of young locals to stay and work on the sparsely inhabited island off the west coast of Scotland, which has endured years of population decline as islanders move away in search of job opportunities on the mainland.

But the announcement of layoffs in recent weeks has sparked fears of a new exodus of more young residents, leaving the island's tight-knit community crestfallen.

The distillery stands on the shore of the small Tarbert harbour and has become a source of pride in Harris, producing award-winning Scotch whisky and gin sold around the world.

"I've quite often said the world didn't need another whisky, but the island did," said Shona Macleod, who was among the site's first employees when it opened.

She said "the whole purpose of the distillery was to create long-term employment and opportunities for people" at a time when Harris's population had fallen by around half in 50 years, as young people left to find work.

There are now around 1,800 inhabitants on the island in the Outer Hebrides, known for its sweeping beaches and turquoise waters.

'Desperately sad'

When AFP visited the distillery, several of its 50 or so employees -- whose average age is 32 -- were overcome with emotion following the announcement of job cuts at the end of April.

"It's desperately sad," said the distillery's financial director Ron MacEachran, with tears in his eyes.

He is from the nearby Isle of Scalpay, and remembers when there was "a thriving community" in this area decades ago with a prosperous port.

"We set out from the very outset to do something very positive for the island," he said.

"This was not something that we contemplated," he added. "Having to do it is deeply painful, because we understand the impact it has on the individuals."

But he said the whisky industry was facing serious problems, with overproduction, changes in consumer habits and global volatility.

"We've deferred the decision for a staff restructuring as long as possible," he said.

"But we had to take it in order to allow the business more scope to navigate through what looks to be a continuing challenge."

Ten percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump -- whose mother Mary Anne MacLeod Trump was born and raised on the neighbouring Isle of Lewis -- were one of several factors creating "uncertainty", he said.

The distillery did not say how many workers would be affected by the cuts, but confirmed staff would be offered voluntary redundancies, followed by compulsory redundancies if targets are not met.

It is also not clear what the news means for the company or its star whisky "Hearach", whose name refers to people from Harris in Scottish Gaelic, or its gin flavoured with local sugar kelp which is served in trendy London bars.

But the uncertainty ushered in by the announcement has come as a blow to young people who stayed on the island after finding work at the distillery.

Several said jobs at the site had helped them feel "settled" at home in Harris.

Donald MacRae, 27, was planning to leave the island to find work as a sports teacher following the Covid pandemic, before he saw the distillery was recruiting staff.

"I was about to move to the mainland," he said.

Now, he has bought a house on Harris and his girlfriend works at the distillery too.

"I'm settled and happy here," he said.

Macleod, 51, worried "young people might have to leave the island again" in search of work.

But MacEachran said he wanted to the distillery to pull through and said he remained hopeful about its future.

"We have something very precious here," he said.

Source: AFP