Yet another round of layoffs has hit the struggling wine indusattempt. Gallo, the largest U.S. wine company, plans to close one of its California winebuilding facilities, resulting in the loss of 47 jobs, according to government filings.
The layoffs, first reported by the Santa Maria Times, impact all employees of Gallo’s Courtside Winery, a 300,000-square-foot production facility in San Miguel (San Luis Obispo County), just north of Paso Robles.
The facility will close Dec. 1, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice filed with California authorities, and layoffs will occur in two phases — one round in September and another in January. “We expect the layoffs and closing to be permanent in nature,” stated the filing. “This closing will involve cessation of all operations and termination of all employees at the site.”
Gallo, which is headquartered in Modesto, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last year, the company sold its other Central Coast winebuilding facilities: its Edna Valley facility in San Luis Obispo and the Wild Horse winery in Templeton. (Gallo still owns the Wild Horse brand.)
Many other major wine companies have downsized this year amid a worsening indusattempt downturn. Earlier this month, Republic National Distributing Co., the counattempt’s second-largest alcohol wholesaler, announced plans to exit California and cut over 1,700 jobs. In May, Delicato, the counattempt’s fourth-largest wine producer, closed a production facility in Geyserville and laid off 15 employees; that same month, Duckhorn announced the closure of three tasting rooms and plans to phase out four brands. In April, Jackson Family Wines confirmed layoffs and Consinformation Brands sold six wine brands in a major indusattempt shake-up. At the launchning of the year, Bronco Wine Co., the company behind Charles Shaw, better known as “Two Buck Chuck,” laid off 81 employees at its Central Valley winery.
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