Brewdog pours £9m on fixing ‘toxic’ culture

BREWDOG has forked out £9m on trying to fix its culture problem and ease pressures on staff after facing claims that workers were “burnt out, afraid and miserable”.

The Scottish brewer said it had made a “significant investment” in workers during the year, increasing its headcount from 1,507 to 2,346. It spent £9m on people, including on an “extensive culture review” and improving salary and benefits for staff.

Brewdog said its plans are aimed at accelerating growth, but designed “to relieve resource constraints in certain parts of the business”.

It comes almost a year after the company found itself embroiled in a controversy over its culture, with a group of former workers called Punks with Purpose writing an open letter accusing chief executive James Watt of creating a “toxic” environment.

Mr Watt apologised after the allegations, and Brewdog launched a review into the claims.

The company later announced that it would be bolstering its HR resources, although the review found that there was a “distinct gap of perception” among those who used to work for Brewdog and current staff.

Mr Watt said there was a mismatch in expectations of what workers were looking for and its culture.

Details of its investment come just weeks after Mr Watt outlined plans to hand just under £100m worth of his shares to employees, to help shake off the controversy.

Brewdog outlined its spend on people as it reported results for 2021, in which it said revenues were up more than a fifth for the year, at £286m.

It sold 23pc more beer, in volume terms, with growth driven by the UK, Germany and Australia, and more customers buying its beers in supermarkets.