A maker of whiskey-aging barrels says it will lay off 52 employees in Smyth County as it ends production there.
In a Feb. 23 letter to state officials, Speyside Bourbon Cooperage Inc. cited “bourbon industry slowdowns,” the same reason it gave in March 2025 when it announced 75 layoffs at the same facility.
Company officials did not return messages seeking comment on Tuesday.
The layoffs will be effective April 23, and employees of the affected location in Atkins were notified Feb. 23, according to the letter. The company does not have a union.
“This layoff will be ending all production for our entire facility. Employees who are laid off will be recalled as business needs warrant based on department, by seniority,” states the letter from Aimee Peterson, the company’s compensation and benefits administrator.
The letter was sent to Virginia’s Rapid Response Workforce Services Division. Companies are required by law to report mass layoffs and closings to the division, which provides career counseling, job search help and other services.
Kendra Hayden, Smyth County’s director of economic development, said the county is working with regional and state partners to help those affected.
“We are deeply saddened by this news and will work to support the folks who are looking for employment as well as Speyside as much as we can,” Hayden said.
Neither the latest letter nor the one last year elaborated on the industry slowdowns cited as the reason behind the layoffs, but domestic whiskey sales declined in 2025 for the second year in a row.
A cooperage makes wooden barrels in which whiskey is aged for a number of years. The length of time, type of wood and other factors affect the spirit’s taste.
Jackson, Ohio-based Speyside has a stave mill in Bath County and facilities in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
The company is a division of Scotland-based Speyside Cooperage Ltd., which is owned by a French firm, the Tonnellerie François Frères (TFF) Group.
