BREWDOG'S CEO has responded after a number of former employees signed a letter claiming there are “toxic” attitudes at the firm.

Sixty-one former staff members, and 45 who did not include their names or initials, claimed workers experienced a “residual feeling of fear” during their time at the Ellon-based beer company.

The lengthy letter from “Punks With Purpose” alleged that a “significant number of people have admitted they have suffered mental illness as a result of working at BrewDog”.

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“It doesn’t matter which part of the business we worked in; production, bartending, sales, operations, packaging, quality, marketing or HR, we all felt that in our day to day working lives, there were at best hurdles, and at worst genuine safety concerns,” it said.

Former staff members accused the craft beer company of “vanity project” campaigns – using the example of the firm’s recent climate drive while allegedly making use of a private jet.

The National:

BrewDog is often in the headlines for its major campaigns, which have included a beer inspired by Dominic Cummings’s mid-lockdown trip to Durham – titled Barnard Castle Eye Test – and frequently offered up their venues for mass vaccination when Covid jags started getting approved.

The open letter has been retweeted thousands of times since being posted last night.

In response, BrewDog CEO James Watt put out a statement on social media this morning.

“At BrewDog we are focused on building the best business we can, which is why the open letter we saw on Twitter was so upsetting, but so important. Our focus now is not on contradicting or contesting the details of that letter, but to listen, learn and act,” Watt (below, left) wrote.

“As a fast-growing business, we have always tried to do the best by our team – we do have thousands of employees with positive stories to tell as a result. But the tweet we saw last night proves that on many occasions we haven’t got it right. We are committed to doing better, not just as a reaction to this, but always; and we are going to reach out to our entire team past and present to learn more. But most of all, right now, we are sorry.”

The National:

He went on: “It’s hard to hear those comments, but it must have been harder to say them. We appreciate that and we will endeavour to honour that effort and courage with the real change it deserves. We aren’t going to make excuses, we’re going to take action.”

He added the company has “always been defined by taking responsibility and continually improving”, with this situation being no exception.