Sapporo USA, the American subsidiary of Japan's Sapporo Holdings, has issued a WARN notice for the termination of 58 employees at the former Stone Brewing headquarters in Escondido, California, effective October 19. This initial round of layoffs marks the beginning of a complete shutdown of the facility's non-hospitality operations, a move that will eventually result in over 200 job losses by mid-November.
The first phase of terminations will affect warehouse, logistics, packaging, and quality assurance staff, along with 11 brewers. According to reports, the production of the Sapporo brand will be shifted entirely to the company's larger facility in Richmond, Virginia. The massive 5,300-square-meter Escondido site, which features two 120-barrel (141 hl) brewhouses and an expansive packaging hall, was deemed expendable following this strategic shift. The adjacent hospitality venue is expected to remain open through the holiday season before closing permanently.
The closure marks the end of an era for what was once the largest craft brewing facility in Southern California. Greg Koch and Steve Wagner founded the company in 1996 and expanded to the Escondido campus ten years later. After years of rapid expansion, the company was acquired by Sapporo in 2022 (inside.beer, 27.06.2022). In a major restructuring move earlier this year, Sapporo sold the Stone brand, its beer portfolio, and four California hospitality locations to Paso Robles-based Firestone Walker Brewing, a subsidiary of Belgium's Duvel Moortgat(inside.beer, 21.04.2026). As part of that deal, Firestone Walker retained over 200 Stone Brewing employees and intends to transition the production of Stone beers to its facilities in California and Missouri. Sapporo retained the Escondido physical assets but has now decided to liquidate the operations amidst a broader industry decline in craft beer consumption.
