Stone Brewing to leave SoCal while laying off hundreds of workers

Key Points:

• Stone Brewing is closing its three production facilities in Escondido, Southern California, resulting in the layoff of 220 employees, with an initial 58 layoffs planned for late October.
• The company will move its production operations to Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County and Kansas City as part of a strategic shift.
• Stone Brewing was acquired by Sapporo in 2022 to produce Sapporo beers in California, but the Escondido sites were closed due to the lack of a viable long-term solution for the location.
• In May, Stone Brewing's brand and some hospitality locations were sold to Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat USA, though the Escondido production sites were not included in this deal.
• Despite the closures, one Stone Brewing location in San Diego will continue to operate as both a hospitality venue and an active brewing facility, maintaining some presence in the region amid industry challenges like declining craft beer demand and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.