Hennessy, owned by the French luxury giant Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, is exploring the move after China recently imposed steep financial penalties on European brandy imports, according to the Confédération Générale du Travail and Force Ouvrière unions, which represent Hennessy employees.

The cognac industry, which is heavily dependent on exports, now fears it will be targeted in the United States as well as China.

Hennessy is studying a plan to bottle cognac in China, the company owned by French luxury giant LVMH said on Tuesday, prompting hundreds of workers at its plant in southwestern France to go on strike.

On Monday, French newspaper La Tribune reported that around 500 employees at Hennessy Cognac have walked off the job in protest of a rumored relocation to China. According to the CGT labor union, Hennessy-owner LVMH is considering a plan to export distilled cognac to China,

By Alban Kacher (Reuters) -Around 500 staff at Hennessy, the cognac maker owned by French luxury giant LVMH, went on strike on Tuesday, a union representative said, to protest what he said was a plan to potentially bottle the brandy in China to avoid tariffs.