BrewDog boss James Watt has described Kwasi Kwarteng's tax-slashing mini-budget “nothing short of a startling display of incompetence”.
In a stinging social media blog, the craft beer entrepreneur said the intervention has “massively handicapped businesses” already on the brink.
The founder and chief executive of the Ellon-based company said Friday’s budget “dramatically increased” business costs, which are already up 34% on last year.
Mr Watt wrote: “The mini budget was nothing short of a startling display of incompetence which has massively handicapped businesses who are already fighting for their lives.
“The UK does not need recklessly uninformed tax cutting – it needs stable and disciplined fiscal responsibility.
“The mini-budget has made the current financial crisis, far, far worse than it needed.
“Like many businesses, much of our input costs are in dollars and the result of the budget is our costs have now dramatically increased on top of already being up 34% versus 2021.”
Experts warn the pound’s plunge towards parity with the dollar will send the cost of goods soaring even higher, potentially worsening the cost crisis facing Scottish firms.