Could there be a UK bottle crisis looming?

Workers from the glass firm Encirc Elton, which makes bottles for Jameson, Baileys, Budweiser and Coors as well as a range of supermarket branded wine, have announced further strikes that have been claimed could potentially cause “significant impact” to the drinks supply chain. But the claims have been refuted by Encirc. db finds out more.

As well as the planned strikes from 3-7 April, workers at Encirc will also walk out on their night shifts from 16-28 April, then from 9-15 May. The decision follows more than 100 Unite members at Encirc’s Elton site having already walked out after the company revealed plans to reduce headcount by almost 30 people.

Concerns

Fears among workers being stated were that losing such a high number of staff could mean this may lead to issues around health and safety, with workers having said that with fewer team members they leave for shifts means people could be physically fatigued and mentally drained, stating that this could lead to accidents at work. The claim however has been refuted by Encirc which has doubled down on the fact that this assertion is unfounded.

Speaking about the upcoming industrial action, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Further strike action will no doubt be disruptive to Encirc’s operations – but it is entirely the fault of the employer. By implementing redundancies, Encirc put profits over people. Encirc must now provide meaningful solutions to workers’ legitimate concerns and our members there continue to have our full support.”

The union has reiterated that Encirc is a major manufacturer and filler of glass bottles for a wide variety of high-profile alcoholic and no/low-alcohol brands and so escalating strike action will have a significant impact on the supply of bottles or containers from the Elton site. This means that there are, according to Unite, there are “likely” to be shortages of popular brands in the next few months.

Encirc’s parent company Vidrala recently reported full-year results for 2025, seeing a strong market performance with a net profit exceeding £192 million signifying that the business itself is profitable.

However, the issue is more complex. Speaking to the drinks business, Pavel Zahariev, sales director for closures firm Herti UK, explained how the effect of the Iran war would “very soon” have an effect on the prices of many raw materials. “The main issue is energy, and the rising cost of oil and gas that is needed to produce our products and transport goods,” he said.

Assessing this knock on effect, wine bottles are becoming more expensive as the cost of production ramps up, and this is also being seen by higher crude prices putting additional pressure on packaging, leading to higher-prices.

Unite regional officer Andrew Johnson explained: “Encirc management has failed to come back to talks around how to solve the problems with health, safety and wellbeing, so members there have felt they have had no choice but to escalate strike action. With so many dates of action, this will have a significant impact on Encirc’s operations. There is still time for Encirc to halt this by returning to negotiations.”

Encirc assures ‘there absolutely will not be any bottle shortages in the UK’

However, the claims by the union have been refuted. In response, an Encirc spokesperson said: “We are incredibly disappointed with this further planned industrial action. We would never do anything that puts anyone at risk, and the decisions we make are based on detailed evidence, independent expertise, and the legal duty we hold to provide a safe working environment. We take the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff very seriously and all our operations are fully risk assessed before they are implemented.”

The spokesperson added: “In addition, we have also added extra layers of protection to ensure our staff feel safe and supported. The reality is that glass production in the UK has seen a downturn over the last 18 months, with cost-of-living impacts, high energy costs and government policies in the UK, such as the new packaging tax (Extended Producer Responsibility), impacting the industry. We have full contingency plans in place and there absolutely will not be any bottle shortages in the UK. We, of course, always remain open to dialogue with the trade union.”

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