Diageo to nearly double Guinness production and cut jobs in turnaround plan

In the months after Lewis’s appointment, some City pundits speculated that he might take the radical step of selling Guinness to raise up to £8bn. Photograph: NurPhoto SRL/Alamy

Diageo’s new chief executive has unveiled plans to nearly double Guinness production while hacking back a “significant” proportion of its 30,000-strong workforce, in a strategic overhaul worthy of his nickname, “Drastic” Dave Lewis.

Shares in Diageo bounced on Thursday, as the former Tesco boss faced down the first big test of his initial half-year in the job, after being parachuted in last November to revive the flagging fortunes of the UK-based drinks company.