Sapporo taglierà 220 posti di lavoro a Stone Brewing mentre la produzione si sposta in California e Missouri
Punti chiave
- •Sapporo USA prevede di licenziare 220 lavoratori in tre sedi di Stone Brewing a Escondido, in California, con i primi 58 licenziamenti che inizieranno il 19 Oct. secondo gli avvisi WARN depositati presso lo Stato.
- •I tagli seguono la vendita da parte di Sapporo del marchio Stone Brewing e di alcune sedi di ospitalità a Firestone Walker Brewing Company e Duvel Moortgat USA, una transazione annunciata ad April e conclusa il 15 May.
- •La produzione della birra Stone si sta spostando da Escondido al birrificio di Firestone Walker a Paso Robles, in California, e al Boulevard brewery di Duvel USA a Kansas City, Missouri, entrambi sotto il gruppo Duvel Moortgat.
- •Il CEO di Sapporo USA, Zach Keeling, ha affermato che l’azienda sta chiudendo gradualmente il birrificio di Escondido dopo non aver trovato una soluzione valida a lungo termine per la proprietà.
- •Sapporo ha acquisito Stone Brewing nel 2022 per una cifra riportata di 165 milioni di dollari e sta vendendo il marchio per concentrare le proprie risorse negli Stati Uniti sulla birra che porta il suo nome, in un contesto di volumi della birra artigianale americana stagnanti o in calo da diversi anni.
Sapporo USA reportedly plans to lay off 220 workers at three Stone Brewing locations in Escondido, California, as production of the craft beer brand shifts to facilities elsewhere in California and Missouri.
The layoffs will begin with 58 workers on Oct. 19, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letters filed by Sapporo with the state. The federal WARN Act requires larger employers to give workers and states 60 days' notice of plant closings and mass layoffs, making the scale of a planned workforce reduction a matter of public record.
FOX Business has reached out to Sapporo USA for comment and confirmation of the total number of employees expected to be affected.
The workforce cuts follow Sapporo's sale of the Stone Brewing brand and select hospitality locations to Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat USA. The transaction was announced in April and closed May 15. Firestone Walker has itself been part of the Belgian family-owned Duvel Moortgat group since 2017, and Boulevard has been a Duvel Moortgat brewery since 2013, which places both of Stone's new production homes under the same parent company.
Under the deal, Stone beer production is transitioning from Escondido to Firestone Walker's brewery in Paso Robles, California, and Duvel USA's Boulevard brewery in Kansas City, Missouri.
The acquisition included Stone Brewing World Bistro \u0026 Gardens at Liberty Station in San Diego, along with taprooms in Little Italy, Oceanside and Pasadena. Stone's Escondido brewery and bistro were not included in the transaction.
When the deal was announced, Sapporo said it would continue producing Stone beer at its Escondido and Richmond, Virginia, breweries during a transition period. It also said it would continue operating the Escondido bistro while evaluating "long-term strategic options" for the site.
Sapporo USA CEO Zach Keeling told the Los Angeles Times that the company is now winding down the Escondido brewery in phases after failing to find a "viable long-term solution" for the property.
"This is an understandably difficult time for our Escondido employees and community, and we're committed to supporting them through this transition," Keeling said in a statement reported by the newspaper.
Firestone Walker and Duvel said in April that they expected to offer jobs to a significant number of Stone employees in hospitality, sales and marketing, while production roles would be evaluated as brewing shifted to the companies' other facilities.
Stone Brewing was founded in Southern California in 1996 and became one of the best-known brands associated with the West Coast craft beer movement. Sapporo acquired the brewer in 2022, in a deal reported at $165 million, before selling the Stone brand this year as it moves to concentrate its U.S. resources on its namesake beer. The retreat comes after several years of flat-to-declining craft beer volumes in the United States, conditions that have put particular pressure on mid-sized regional brewers.
The Stone brand will continue under Firestone Walker and Duvel USA, while the Liberty Station location will remain both a hospitality venue and an active brewery, according to the companies' acquisition announcement. How many of the affected Escondido workers are ultimately hired by the new owners, and what becomes of the Escondido brewery site, are the open questions as the phased wind-down proceeds.
