The layoffs around 275 workers by the end of this year from Olam Foods & Ingredients at its Firebaugh factory It’s one of a series of nearly 60 mass closures or layoffs announced so far this year across California’s central San Joaquin Valley.
Some of the actions for which companies have notified state or local authorities involve only a few employees at individual locations; others – including the closure of the Olam factory that produces dried onions, parsley and other products – affect dozens or even hundreds of workers.
Employers are required under state and federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, laws to notify the state Employment Development Department, local city or county officials, and local development boards workforce information about large-scale layoffs or facility closures at least 60 days in advance.
In Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties, WARN notices for nearly 770 workers had effective layoff dates in the first half of 2024; about 955 are expected in July and through the remainder of 2024, according to notices received so far by the state.
Expiring contracts
The largest layoff announced during the first half of the year was at the National Guard’s 1106th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group, where Amentum notified 113 affected workers, including aircraft mechanics, painters, technicians and others, as a result of the loss of a new contract to support aircraft maintenance at the base. The previous contract ended on June 28th.
Amentum’s WARN notice indicated, however, that a new aircraft maintenance contractor at the base was expected to contact the affected workers about possible employment opportunities. Chanel Mann, a spokeswoman for Amentum, told The Bee this week that all but two of the employees were hired by the new small business contractor; the other two remained with Amentum and were transferred to another location.
Expired or shortened contracts are also behind some other significant layoff notices, including:
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Pro Youth, a nonprofit organization in Visalia, filed a WARN notice in May announcing that it expects to lay off 247 of its employees, including school enrichment specialists, on Aug. 15, “due to the Visalia Unified School District reducing school services.” Pro Youth at your local school, where laid-off Pro Youth employees are working.
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ABM General Services, a commercial cleaning company, laid off 114 of its employees after Amazon terminated its contract with the company for services at the online retailer’s warehouse on South Orange Avenue in south Fresno. The termination of the contract took effect on March 19.
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Wellpath, a Nashville-based healthcare company that had contracts at four Tulare County jail facilities. The contract’s expiration on June 30 resulted in the layoff of 100 employees, including registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses and other healthcare professionals.
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Triple Canopy, a security company subsidiary of Constellis, held a contract to provide security services under the Federal Protective Service at federally owned or leased offices throughout California. The expiration of that contract meant the layoff of 203 employees, including 37 at 12 locations in Fresno.
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The July 1 expiration of the California Community Access Foundation’s contract to provide telephone services to deaf and disabled customers meant layoffs of workers at 10 locations across the state, including 10 workers in Fresno.
Other considerable layoffs
Earlier this year, 91 delivery drivers at 17 Pizza Hut franchises across the Valley were laid off. Brian Thompson, president of franchise companies CalPac Pizza, CalPac Pizza II and Southern PacPizza, said in WARN notices that the companies “made a business decision to eliminate primary delivery services and, as a result, the elimination of all truck driver positions. delivery” to restaurants in mid-February. This includes Pizza Hut stores in Fresno, Hanford, Lemoore, Madera, Los Banos, Merced, Atwater, Porterville, Tulare and Visalia.
The franchisee’s decision to cut delivery services from its own restaurants came as California’s minimum wage was scheduled to increase to $20 per hour for restaurant workers at fast-food chains, and is part of a statewide move to cut more than 1,200 delivery drivers. The change meant that Pizza Hut customers would need to use smartphone app services like Uber Eats or Doordash for pizza delivery.
Among other layoffs disclosed in WARN notices are:
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The February closure of Visalia-based Country Club Mortgage resulted in the layoff of 105 workers at offices in Visalia, Fresno, Selma, Hanford and Exeter.
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In Tulare, the closure of the Ruan Transportation facility on Blackstone Street in January cost 92 employees – most of whom were truck drivers – their jobs. Ruan also closed its hub in Turlock, where 65 employees were laid off.
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The complete closure of the 99 Cents Only Stores chain this year meant the loss of more than 1,000 employees in California, including 41 — mostly cashiers and stockers — at the company’s Los Banos store. The liquidation of the network’s operations was expected to be completed in early June.
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Western Power Sports is closing its warehouse on South Fig Avenue in Fresno. The layoffs began earlier this year and will continue until mid-August, resulting in the layoff of 41 workers.
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Adventist Health’s reduction in labor and delivery services at its hospital in Tulare in June resulted in the layoff of 22 employees, including 16 registered nurses and obstetric technicians.
Yet to come
A decision earlier this year by Ruiz Foods to close its production facility in Tulare will affect 215 workers by mid-September. The company said in June that the plant, which produces frozen foods, was too small and would be too expensive to upgrade to meet its needs. Ruiz Foods will continue to operate its production facility in Dinuba.
Almost 180 workers at Cargill Meat Solutions factory on South Fig Avenue in southwest Fresno will be fired in early August, according to a WARN notice. The layoffs follow the acquisition of the plant by Hanford-based Central Valley Meat Co. The factory will remain open with about 700 workers following the layoffs.
