A Modesto packaging and logistics firm with deep ties to the Gallo wine empire will eliminate 66 permanent positions before January, a casualty of shrinking wine consumption and mounting operational costs.
G3 Enterprises filed the required Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification last Friday. The company, founded by the family behind E. & J. Gallo Winery, plans to cut most roles tied to beverage closure manufacturing at one of its Modesto facilities.
Laura Bream, vice president of human resources, attributed the reductions to “significant headwinds” battering the sector. Consumers are buying less wine. Inflation keeps squeezing margins. Production volumes have shifted accordingly.
“Like many companies in our industry, we have experienced changes in customer purchasing patterns and production volumes,” Bream said. “While these changes have contributed to the need for restructuring, they reflect broader market dynamics affecting the entire wine sector.”
The company manufactures cork closures, labels and bottles for wine and spirits producers. Bream declined to identify specific clients but acknowledged serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage customers.
G3 operates as a separate legal entity from E. & J. Gallo Winery despite its shared family ownership. The company once ranked as the nation’s largest grape hauler and remains one of Modesto’s biggest private employers. Its transportation arm appears untouched by the layoffs.
The cuts mirror a punishing year for California wine country. Napa and Sonoma counties have weathered a cascade of closures, sales and workforce reductions. Constellation Brands permanently shuttered Quarry Lake Winery. Gallo closed Ranch Winery in St. Helena this spring, laying off 56 workers.
The broader contraction shows no sign of reversing as shifting consumer habits continue reshaping the industry that defined Northern California’s agricultural identity for generations.
