The rise and fall of BrewDog: how the anarchic brewery went from progressive to problematic
Oh dear, BrewDog.
A case of: “How could it possibly get any worse?” And then it did.
In a LinkedIn post this week, Brewdog boss and co-founder James Watt said he would be stepping down from the top job after 17 years to “dedicate some more time to my other business interests”.
Could the move maybe have anything to do with a string of other missteps of late? Like, for example, BrewDog losing its B Corp status after complaints of a working “culture of fear”. Or being showered with opprobrium over its “hypocritical” stance on the 2022 World Cup (for much the same reason). Or Watt facing accusations of inappropriate behaviour, which he denies.
It’s not the first time the maverick craft beer brewer has made headlines this year.
In a letter to staff back in January, Brewdog Bars CEO James Brown said all new workers would now be paid £11.44 per hour nationwide – the . That will see their pay go up by around 5 per cent. Doesn’t sound so bad? It also means staff in London will have their hourly pay frozen – a real-terms pay cut.
