Some employees of Bira 91 who were told to serve a notice period of two months in December 2024 have yet to receive their dues, even after three months! Not only that, their notice period was also reportedly cut short by a month. They now hope for their dues to be cleared by 31 May. There are also employees whose allowances have not been reimbursed and whose salaries are still pending. Reimbursements for travel and other expenses were suddenly stopped in November. To add to their woes, many employees were relocated to other states and reassigned roles they weren’t comfortable with. Those who refused to comply were asked to resign. Why wouldn’t Bira 91 employees be unhappy and disappointed?
Media reports say that the company failed to pay its vendors, while a lot of money was spent on expensive brand campaigns and sponsorships. The breweries stopped production in the absence of raw material. In 2023, the company changed its name due to which relabelling of products was required, which again caused financial stress. Not only were suppliers not paid on time, there was shortage of inventory too during a season of high beer demand.
Clearly Bira’s calculations went wrong in trying to grow at an uncomfortably fast pace and in attempting to pursue overambitious expansion plans. The company is now struggling to satisfy and pacify its disgruntled employees, clear their dues and resolve issues in its supply chain.
