Unite the Union will stage a demonstration outside BrewDog’s bar at Union Square in Aberdeen at 6.45pm on Wednesday 25 February.
The protest has been called in response to the treatment of workers before and during the ongoing sale process at BrewDog.
Unite stated the dispute centred on a lack of consultation, removal of the real living wage, bar closures and a reduction in contracted hours.
The Morning Advertiser (The MA) understands claims around workers being left in the dark are false and that the process will help protect jobs and ensure the sustainability of the company going forward.
Furthermore, The MA understands there have been no cuts to working hours, with BrewDog Bars and breweries operating as normal.
Insecurity and uncertainty
However, Dennis Ellis, an Aberdeen-based BrewDog worker, claimed staff found out about the sale at the same time as the press.
He continued: “We have had one meeting with the CEO, in which he said ‘there will be two weeks of uncertainty’ with no clarity about what happens thereafter.
“Our hours have been cut from 32 hours to 24 hours a week, despite being on full time contracts. That’s a loss of roughly £400 a month — during a cost-of-living crisis.
“This sale process, and the distinct lack of consultation from the company, deepens the insecurity workers have been living with.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham added: “This sale is the result of years of catastrophic mismanagement - prioritising private equity returns over workers and a sustainable business.
“You cannot talk about restructuring without recognising the real people whose rent, food bills and childcare depend on these jobs.”
Echoing Graham, Unite Hospitality national lead Bryan Simpson described BrewDog as a “brand once sold to customers as anit-establishment being auctioned to the highest bidder”.
Simpson added the situation had left workers and small investors “picking up the pieces”. He also demanded clarity on job security.
Exploring options
The MA contacted BrewDog for comment but the company declined to provide a further statement.
Earlier this month, the Scottish brewer and pub operator was reported to have appointed advisers to restructure the business and explore sale options. No decisions are thought to have been made at this stage.
This week, founder and former CEO James Watt, who stepped down from his role in 2024, was thought to be considering putting £10m of his own money into the business in a bid to rescue the Ellon-based firm.
It comes after the company announced it would be winding down its distilling arm earlier this year to focus on its beer portfolio and RTDs.
Last year, BrewDog announced it would be shutting 10 bars, cutting jobs and selling its Lost Forest. Founder Martin Dickie also departed the business in 2025.
In December 2025, the business faced backlash over a campaign promoting its new Punk IPA recipe, which described the brew as “tasing like commercial suicide” to highlight the fact that BrewDog had absorbed rising production costs.
