In an email sent to employees last week, BrewDog CEO James Taylor said the business had made the “difficult decision” to streamline its workforce amid a challenging market.
The announcement came after the Scottish brewer and pub operator posted a pre-tax loss of almost £37m for FY24 as sales slumped.
Taylor’s letter said: “As many of you know, we’re operating in a tough and fast-changing market and in order to set BrewDog up for long-term success, we’ve taken time to review our structure and ensure we’re focusing our energy and investment in the right areas.
Difficult decision
“As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to right-size parts of the business.”
Taylor explained the changes had affected a number of roles across “several departments”, adding those impacted had been informed.
In July, BrewDog also announced plans to shut 10 bars, including its flagship venue in Aberdeen, due to rising costs.
The following month, it was reported BrewDog’s range of draught beers had disappeared from almost 2,000 pubs in the last two years, cutting its UK distribution by more than a third.
Critical period
In addition, last week the Ellon-based business announced it had sold the Kinrara Estate, known as its ‘Lost Forest’.
Co-founders James Watt and Martin Dickie have also both departed from the business, which recently secured £20m in additional funding from private equity backer TSG, in the past 18 months.
In his letter, the CEO stated Q4 FY25 would be critical: “We know change can feel unsettling, and we don’t take these decisions lightly. But we are confident the steps we’re taking now will help us operate more simply, stay focused, and drive the business forward.
“Looking ahead, Q4 will be a critical quarter for us - and we have a strong, focused commercial plan in place to deliver against our goals. We know there’s still work to do, but we’re approaching the final part of the year with focus and determination.”
