Employees of B9 Beverages protesting against unpaid dues outside the company founder’s residence in Defence Colony.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Employees of craft beer maker B9 Beverages Ltd., known for its Bira 91 brand, say they are preparing to move court after more than a year of delayed or unpaid salaries despite repeated attempts to resolve the crisis through dialogue and complaints.Launched in 2015, Bira 91 quickly emerged as a prominent name in India’s craft beer segment, known for its distinctive packaging featuring a monkey logo and unconventional flavour profiles. In recent years, however, the company has reportedly faced mounting financial challenges.Over 50 current and former employees gathered for a “silent protest” on March 1 in Defence Colony outside the residence of the company’s founder, Ankur Jain. Among their demands were immediate payment of pending salaries and the deposit of outstanding statutory dues, including provident fund (PF), tax deducted at source (TDS) and National Pension System (NPS) contributions. According to employee representatives, the crisis has affected more than 700 current and former staff members.Unresponsive leadersEmployees said the demonstration followed months of unsuccessful attempts to seek a resolution through internal discussions and formal complaints to authorities. Responding to queries from The Hindu, Mr. Jain said, “We have made several attempts to meet leaders of ex-employee groups and invited them for discussions. They have not accepted these meetings. I am always available for scheduled meetings and feel the protests were premeditated and done in bad faith, with objectives other than employee dues,” he said. However, several employees contested this claim, saying their repeated requests for meetings had largely gone unanswered.Personal hardshipsSeveral employees described severe personal hardships caused by the prolonged salary delays. One former employee said he had to withdraw his PF savings to manage expenses and borrow money from friends and family to meet home loan EMIs and household costs.A former associate director in sales told The Hindu that he had not received salary since February 2025 and had pending reimbursements dating back to November 2024. To cope with mounting expenses, he said he broke his ₹18-lakh Public Provident Fund (PPF) savings and sold property to manage children’s education fees and household expenses.E-mails unansweredAnother former employee said the crisis began with delayed salary payments in December 2024. He resigned in July 2025 after serving his notice period but says his dues remain unpaid. “E-mails to the company went unanswered,” he said. In one case shared by employees, the wife of a staff member was admitted to the hospital for childbirth but the company’s health insurance card reportedly did not work because premiums had not been paid. “For those with smaller salaries, the situation is even worse,” said an employee. Employees say more than 200 written representations have been submitted to different agencies seeking intervention. “After seeing no results, we are now preparing to go to court,” an employee said. Published - March 08, 2026 01:13 am IST
