WITH just 25 minutes’ notice, almost 500 workers at Scotland-based craft brewer BrewDog have been sacked as dozens of venues close.

Tiray Brands, which produces medicinal cannabis as well as craft beer in the US, swooped in to buy all BrewDog intellectual property, along with its UK brewing operation and 11 of its pub venues across the UK and Ireland for £33 million, after administrators Alix Partners were called in on Monday.

Chairman and chief executive of Tilray Brands Irwin D Simon said: “As we begin a new chapter for this great brand, our priority is to refocus BrewDog on the craft beer excellence that made it beloved in the first place and strategically invest to return the operations to profitable growth.

“BrewDog’s future is bright, and we are committed to ensuring the brand continues to lead and inspire the global craft beer movement.”

While the purchase will save BrewDog’s brewery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, and its national distribution centre in Motherwell, 38 pubs will not be included in Mr Simon’s “bright future,” plunging 484 workers onto the dole.

Furious not only that workers had been given just 25 minutes’ warning of a conference call with administrators at which they were sacked “with immediate effect,” but that press had been briefed before workers, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a devastating day for BrewDog workers. Nearly 500 lost livelihoods while yet another corporate deal is stitched together behind closed doors. 

“BrewDog workers built this brand. They deserved respect. Instead, they were treated as disposable pawns. Unite will not rest until our members have legal and financial justice.”

Pointing out that workers had a legal right to consultation before redundancies, the union is demanding answers not only on the sale of the business, but on unpaid wages.

Unite Hospitality national lead Bryan Simpson said: “The way in which senior management have conducted themselves throughout this sales process has been nothing short of a national disgrace — with workers being given no information about the company’s plans or their futures.

“For the chief executive to tell workers that they were redundant with immediate effect, on a conference call with only 25 minutes’ notice, has echoes of P&O and is deplorable.

“Unite will be ensuring that our members receive everything they are legally entitled to.”