The President of Diageo in Europe has told STV news the company will look seriously at any proposal from the Government which guarantees the future of its whisky plant in Kilmarnock.
However, Andrew Morgan says in order to keep the business competitive one of its three Scottish packaging plants has to be axed.
Mr Morgan said: "We are now going into consultation and we are open to whatever suggestions are put to us by the various other stakeholders. I don’t think it would be authentic of us to go into consultation if we weren’t prepared to listen. Absolutely, we will listen.
"We have given a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for the next 12 months. We have got plenty of time to think about how we work with people locally to make this change as easy as possible."
Mr Morgan’s comments will give a glimmer of hope to the 700 people facing the axe in Ayrshire.
Meanwhile, it has emerged Diageo's plan to close its Johnnie Walker bottling plant is to be debated in the House of Commons.
Former Scottish Secretary Des Browne said he had secured a debate in the Commons about the proposed closure.
Mr Browne, who represents Kilmarnock and Loudoun, said: "Diageo's proposals will have a devastating effect on my constituency - already East Ayrshire has one of the highest rates of unemployment and poverty in the country.
"It is right we are given the opportunity to debate the likely affects of this decision, the way it has been announced without consultation and the wider national implications of the severance of two centuries of links between Scotch whisky and Kilmarnock."
The Commons debate - scheduled for July 15 - will give politicians the chance to unite in support of the workers facing redundancy, according to Mr Browne.
News of the Parliamentary debate comes the day after Commons leader Harriet Harman said Diageo's plan, if implemented, will be a "body blow" to the Ayrshire town.
