Former BrewDog employees claim they were fired based on gender and sexual orientation

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A group of former employees from a Fountain Square brewery claim they were fired because of their gender and sexual orientation. Four employees from BrewDog said they were fired by a new general manager they had never met before.

“This new general manager who we have never met, don’t even know what he looks like, called us one by one and told us that we were all being fired because they wanted a change in culture,” said former employee Erica O’Neill.

“It’s very strange that we seem to be singled out as a certain type of community that was fired,” said former employee Kyrrha Myers.

O’Neill said in January, the brewery’s executive chef and general manager, who were both women, were fired. She said the positions were filled by men.

Former employee Jordan Dalton shared what happened on Twitter and BrewDog’s CEO Jason Block responded.

“During the time we were furloughed the company sent us gifts, told us they appreciated us and that we were valued,” Dalton explained.

News 8 tried reaching out to Block and company headquarters based in Ohio and did not hear back.

An article published by Columbus Business First said BrewDog shared a statement saying “We do not believe that gender nor sexual orientation influenced those decisions and any such claims that they did will be fully investigated.”

The article goes on to say the terminations were based on performance issues.

Baby’s is one of a handful of Indianapolis restaurants to respond to the situation on social media. The business shared a video dumping out BrewDog’s beer, saying “here is our change in culture and goodbye to hateful brew.”

CEO Jason Block also said on Twitter that several men employed by BrewDog did lose their jobs for performance issues, but none of them at the Indianapolis location.

Block also said that more than half of the company’s restaurants and bars around the world are led by women.