Alcohol distributor Republic National laying off hundreds in Bay Area as it exits state
Citing rising operational costs the alcohol wholesaler Republic National Distributing Co plans to exit California come September shedding jobs statewide in its wake A combined jobs will be cut at Tustin and Chino facilities according to company filings with the state s Employment Advance Department Another positions will be gone in Hayward Morgan Hill and Pleasanton all in Northern California Related Articles Silicon Valley Pain Index says poverty inequality continue to plague South Bay Six Flags holding casting calls for its live entertainment group Republic Services trash pickup resumes in West Contra Costa County other pockets of Bay Area California job insecurity What are the odds you get let go US manufacturers are stuck in a rut despite subsidies from Biden and protection from Trump Other job cuts are coming to Young s Sphere Co LLC the -year-old Tustin-based spirits distributor that Republic National bought in A combined layoffs are coming to San Diego Commerce and Sacramento The layoffs effective Sept will come in phases depending on location through the end of the year according to the filings The biggest cuts are coming to the company s two Franklin Avenue facilities in Tustin where workers or of the company s affected California workforce will lose their jobs RELATED Intel chops several hundred Bay Area tech jobs as chipmaker retrenches Bob Hendrickson chief executive officer of Republic National wrote in a memo to employees that the company would be leaving the California region after spirits giant Brown-Forman downsized its distribution partnership choosing rival Reyes Beverage Group A copy of the memo was provided by Republic National spokeswoman Kanchan Kinkade The memo does not say if any workers will remain in California after the layoffs The decision to exit California was driven by rising operational costs industry headwinds and supplier changes that made the industry unsustainable Hendrickson wrote to staff Brown-Forman ended partnerships across all U S markets effective Aug Hendrickson characterized the contract loss as part of a broader strategic shift not performance-related While this brings change we are actively evaluating the impact and charting a path to emerge stronger We ve faced challenges before and grown through them we ll do so again he wrote It s pivotal to emphasize this is not a reflection of our California crew s performance or dedication The layoffs cover a broad swath of positions in California according to July letters filed with the EDD by Ayesha Mahapatra senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Republic National Positions include drivers with the Teamsters union sales representatives accountants credit and collection managers clerks district sales managers human deposit specialists pricing analysts and a senior vice president in charge of spirits The filings were made as part of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act commonly referred to as WARN which are required when an employer lays off more than employees All affected employees are notified at least days before their terminations are scheduled to occur according to Mahapatra Brown-Forman produces a variety of rum gin and whiskey brands such as Jack Daniel s whiskey Woodford Reserve Herradura el Jimador Korbel and Fords Gin
