Stone Brewing to lay off over 200 as it shuts down Calif. headquarters

The parent company ofStone Brewing Co., the largest craft brewery in San Diego, is set to part ways with 58 workers on Oct. 19 as part of a multiphase layoff expected to grow to over 200 affected employees, according to a WARN notice obtained by SFGATE.

Read more Hawk Fire near Reno prompts Sierra County evacuation warnings

Stone Brewing’s parent company, Sapporo U.S.A., also plans to shutter its longtime headquarters in Escondido permanently, the company said in the notice.

The notice comes just four months after Sapporo U.S.A., which acquired Stone Brewing in 2022, sold the brand to former rival and Paso Robles-based Firestone Walker Brewing Co. for an undisclosed amount. Firestone Walker has hired over 200 Stone Brewing employees and the current layoffs do not include any Firestone Walker employees, according to Nick Firestone, the company’s CEO.

As part of the deal in April, Firestone and Duvel Moortgat USA acquired Stone Brewing’s brand and four Stone Brewing hospitality locations — Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at Liberty Station in San Diego, and tap rooms in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, Oceanside and Pasadena, according to a news release announcing the sale. The companies planned to transition production to Paso Robles and Kansas City, Missouri.

The brewery’s sale in April and resulting planned shutdown of the Escondido headquarters mark the beginning of the end of Stone’s massive Escondido facility, which was one of craft brewing’s greatest local success stories, as the Stone brand grew into an iconic fixture of the industry on the West Coast.

From its beginnings in 1996, the brewery expanded to include a headquarters with two 120-barrel brewing systems, a sizable packaging hall next door, and a two-story restaurant with a 1-acre outdoor beer garden. 

Read more Bay Area man arrested on suspicion of killing 4 family members

But as the hype around craft beer began to fizzle out and alcohol consumption declined across the US, the COVID-19 pandemic also proved to be a big blow to the industry in Southern California.

Among the roles cut in the first phase of layoffs at Stone are warehouse, logistics, packaging, and quality assurance workers, as well as 11 brewers, according to the WARN notice.

SFGATE’s request to Stone Brewing for comment had not been answered by time of publication.

This story has been updated.