In news that has shocked the MN beer world, Jeff Williamson posted on his Facebook feed this morning that he has been sacked from Flat Earth Brewing Company, the brewery that he founded in 2007. In his post Williamson said, “We’ll it’s been an interesting ride, but I was just fired from Flat Earth this morning.” A few minutes later Cathie Dirks-Williamson, Jeff’s wife and Flat Earth Co-founder followed up, “Jeff was fired this morning from our beloved Flat Earth Brewing Company. Thank you to all our family, friends, and fans. We brewed for you and we hope you enjoyed our beer in good times and bad. Peace out.” I have not yet reached the Williamsons for comment.
A spokesperson at the brewery declined to go into detail, but said that Williamson “has chosen to leave the company.” According to this spokesperson the decision was made by Williamson a month ago and they were tying up loose ends before he actually departed. The current Assistant Brewer Bob Roepke will continue brewing until hiring decisions have been made. Flat Earth currently has an ad on Probrewer.com looking for an Assistant Brewer.
The Williamsons founded Flat Earth in 2007. By 2010 the brewery had hit financial difficulties and the decision was made to sell the company to an investor to head off foreclosure. John Warner bought Flat Earth in that year, with Jeff Williamson staying on as Brewmaster. There have been rumors of tension between them for some time.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: 10:15 AM, 4/9/12
Flat Earth Brewery just posted the following statement on its Facebook feed .
“Jeff submitted his intent to leave the company over 3 weeks ago, yesterday was his last day, why he chooses to say he was fired is not accurate. Please be sure you know all the facts. We wish Jeff the best.”
UPDATE: 2:39 PM, 4/9/12
Flat Earth Brewery has removed the statement above from its Facebook Feed.
The Williamsons have declined to comment citing possible legal questions and stating “we certainly don’t want to battle the brewery on FB.”
Won’t be the same without Jeff! I wonder if the new owner even realizes that many people bought the beer because of Jeff’s hard work.
-Tucker
You know what the best way to “not battle the brewery on FB” would have been? I submit that it would have been to NOT POST “they fired me” ON FACEBOOK.
Publicly, by the way.
This is the age of social media, people. These are publicly visible posts that anybody can see. I can see them, and I’d never heard of Jeff Williamson before today. If you don’t want drama, don’t purposely go out of your way to seek public sympathy. Is it that hard to grasp?
Got to love it when someone chooses to use the podium of social media to announce “I have been wronged,” and then when someone reaches out to say “how?” they reply “Oh, I don’t want to comment. But take my word for it, I’m totally telling the truth. You probably shouldn’t want any proof.”
Either commit to the inevitable curiosity that your announcement is going to generate or don’t make the comment. It’s like calling a press conference and then standing at the podium, refusing to speak.
On the other side, I also don’t understand why Flat Earth removed their own statement from their feed. I guess they reconsidered and thought it was better not to direct ANY attention toward Williamson, even if it was in their own defense?
My head hurts. Why can’t anyone act rationally?
Hey kidcarboy I think you may be blowing it out of proportion just a little here. There must have been some form of hostile takeover or something or else he would’n’t have said anything on facebook. I personally would be kinda mad if I was forced to quit my own website that I started and made a name for myself…I dont know if I really made a name for myself for my blog Im just comparing it to say a brewery.
But whatever I dont know what’s going on over there or who’s running the show now it just seems odd the whole situation. I work at a local family run company and when things started to get a little too corporate and people were having things taken away for now reason a big group left and started their own company and now they are one of our main competitors. Maybe this is what will come of this.
If you’ve never heard of Jeff Williamson, you haven’t been paying attention.
I met Jeff while he was at Flat Earth, and I have to say I liked the fella. He was really passionate about his beer and the company. That being said, none of us know the whole story, or what kind of drama occurred behind the scenes.
An individual has the right to post whatever they want on their Facebook pages. A company, however, needs to stay away from getting into any sort of commentary about the “what, when or why” of the termination of an employee on any sort of social media.
Which is why they removed the statement from their Facebook page, I would guess, to avoid a lawsuit. Damage was already done, however, as it was already seen and commented on.
Dave: If he was forced out, then he SHOULD be mad. That’s exactly what I’ve been saying the whole time. And because he should be mad, he should air his grievances like an adult, by speaking to a media outlet, even if that’s a blog. He should air the facts, and let others come to the same conclusion as he clearly has come to: that he has been wronged.
Instead, he made the claim, “I have been wronged,” but then refused to actually back it up with detail, facts or example. And as such, we don’t know the truth.
In this kind of argument, all I have to revert back to at any moment to reinforce my point is to say “What I would like is the truth.”
Al: I didn’t mean to suggest he’s not a good brewer or something, I just don’t live anywhere near the area. I have no personal investment in this story whatsoever, I’m just looking at it from the perspective of a reporter. (I work for a newspaper)
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Jeff will be back on his feet in no time.
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