In Scotland, there’s whisky, and then there’s Irn-Bru. One burns your throat and warms your soul; the other’s a neon-orange lifeline, a sugary kick in the teeth that’s as Scottish as a kilt in a rainstorm. Both are sacred, untouchable. So when AG Barr, the bastards who’ve been bottling Irn-Bru since 1875, decided to fuck with the recipe, they didn’t just tweak a product – they stuck a middle finger up at an entire nation. And that’s just the start of the mess.
This isn’t a feel-good story about a plucky little company. This is about labour disputes, job cuts, and a CEO with a rap sheet of corporate chaos. AG Barr’s been stumbling through controversies like a drunk in a Glasgow alley, and now they’ve handed the keys to Euan Sutherland – a guy who’s left more wreckage than a storm on the Clyde. So saddle up, this is Barr’s edition of Ce’UnPac’d.
The Workers’ Revolt: Strike Action and Broken Trust
August 2023. The air’s thick with tension outside AG Barr’s factories. Workers, the heartbeat of this operation, walk off the job. They’re not striking for shits and giggles – they’re pissed. Management’s playing hardball, and the Unite union’s calling it out: “AG Barr has resorted to anti-union tactics in an attempt to break the strike.” That’s not a negotiation; that’s a power play, a cold-blooded attempt to crush the spirit of the people who keep the bottles moving.
Picture it: picket lines stretching across the tarmac, faces hardened by years of graft, breath fogging in the damp Scottish chill. These aren’t faceless drones; they’re the ones who turn sugar and fizz into gold. But AG Barr? They’d rather flex their corporate muscle than listen. The strike hit operations hard, snarled supply chains, and left a stain on their reputation that no amount of PR bollocks can scrub clean. It’s a fight for dignity, and the workers are the underdogs here, caught between a rock and a paycheck.
The Axe Falls: Nearly 200 Jobs, Gone
Fast forward to March 2024, and AG Barr’s at it again. They announce “streamlining operations” – fancy words for slashing nearly 200 jobs. The Barr Direct Store Delivery division? Shut down by June, 160 livelihoods torched. The Boost division? “Integrated,” which is corporate-speak for gutted – 35 more jobs on the chopping block, with a vague promise of “consultation” that sounds like a pat on the head before the boot.
This isn’t trimming fat; it’s cutting muscle and bone. Nearly 200 families staring down the barrel of unemployment, wondering how to pay the rent, feed the kids, keep the lights on. And for what? A fatter profit margin? A bonus for the suits? Perhaps even revenge for the strike? AG Barr says they’ll “support affected employees,” but that’s a hollow platitude when you’re dismantling lives. It’s betrayal, pure and simple, served cold.
The Recipe Change: A National Gut Punch
But the real kicker – the one that still stings – is the Irn-Bru recipe change. Back in 2018, AG Barr slashed the sugar from 10.3g to 4.7g per 100ml. Why? To dodge the UK’s sugar tax, a bureaucratic cash grab. Fair enough, you might think – except Irn-Bru isn’t just a drink. It’s Scotland’s lifeblood, a taste of nostalgia that hits like a brick of pure joy. Messing with it is like pissing on a saltire.
The backlash was instant and ferocious. Fans stockpiled the original like it was the end times – one guy nabbed 250 cans, a fortress of fizz against the corporate heresy. A petition, “Hands off our Irn-Bru,” racked up over 6,000 signatures, a roar of defiance from a nation scorned. Social media turned into a battlefield, awash with tales of betrayal and memories of the real stuff. AG Barr’s response? A limp “excellent taste match.” Bullshit. You can’t fake soul, and the new brew tasted like a compromise – like a band reunion with a replacement singer. Scotland didn’t forgive, and they sure as hell didn’t forget.
Euan Sutherland: The Fox in the Henhouse
Now, enter Euan Sutherland, AG Barr’s new CEO as of May 1, 2024. Announced in February, he’s the shiny new toy meant to fix this mess. On the surface, he’s got the creds – Saga, Superdry, The Co-op Group. But scratch that surface, and it’s a horror show. This isn’t a white knight; it’s a man who’s danced with disaster and walked away with fat cheques while others cleaned up the mess.
The Co-op Collapse: A Financial Shitstorm
Sutherland took the reins at The Co-operative Group in April 2013. Less than a year later, he’s out, leaving behind a smouldering wreck. The Co-op Bank’s credit rating gets downgraded to junk by Moody’s – turns out, a merger with Britannia Building Society left a £1.5 billion hole in the finances, courtesy of some rancid commercial loans. The bank’s CEO bails, and Sutherland follows in March 2014, muttering about needing “professional and commercial governance.” Translation: it was a sinking ship, and he wasn’t about to go down with it. He didn’t fix it; he fled it.
Superdry: A Boardroom Bloodbath
Then there’s Superdry. Sutherland’s CEO from 2014 to 2019, and it ends in a full-on coup. Co-founder Julian Dunkerton, who’d stepped away, comes roaring back, accusing Sutherland of tanking the brand with lacklustre leadership. It’s a public brawl – shareholders pick sides, and in April 2019, Dunkerton wins by a hair. Sutherland and most of the board are out, resigning in a huff. His parting gift? A £730,000 payoff, with whispers it could hit £1 million. That’s not a golden parachute; it’s a fucking platinum jetpack. Meanwhile, the brand’s left reeling, and he’s counting his cash.
The Road Ahead: Redemption or Ruin?
So, what’s AG Barr got now? A company battered by strikes, bleeding jobs, and still licking wounds from the Irn-Bru fiasco. And at the helm, Euan Sutherland – a guy who’s proven he can navigate chaos, but only by jumping ship or cashing out. It’s like putting a fox in charge of the henhouse and hoping for the best.
They’re at a crossroads. They could listen – to the workers screaming for fairness, to the fans begging for their drink back, to the lessons of Sutherland’s past. Or they could double down, chasing profits over people, betting on a man who’s made a career out of controversy. The people of Scotland are watching, and they’ve got long memories and short tempers. AG Barr’s future hangs in the balance, and it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project
Sources
- Unite Union News – A.G. Barr workers to resume strike action as Unite accuses soft-drinks giant of ‘anti-union’ tactics
- Food Manufacture – AG Barr threatens almost 200 jobs
- BBC News – AG Barr: Response to new Irn Bru recipe ‘encouraging’
- The Scottish Sun – ‘Irn-Bru is sacred’ Devastated Irn-Bru fans hit out after AG Barr reveal recipe will change for good within days
- The Herald – New boss in charge of Irn-Bru is no stranger to controversy
- The Scotsman – Sutherland resigns from ‘ungovernable’ Co-op group
- The Guardian – Superdry: Julian Dunkerton wins battle to rejoin firm – and entire board resigns
- The Guardian – Superdry chief in line for £730,000 payoff after protest resignation