After selling Stone Brewing Co. in April, Sapporo is preparing to cut more than 200 employees, with the first 58 workers expected to be laid off in October as the company permanently closes Stone’s longtime Escondido headquarters.

The first round of layoffs is expected to begin October 19, when 58 Stone Brewing workers are slated to lose their jobs, as SFGate reports. The cuts include workers in warehouse, logistics, packaging, and quality assurance roles, along with 11 brewers. More than 200 employees are expected to be affected through the broader layoff plan.

The cuts come as Sapporo USA winds down Stone Brewing’s longtime operation in Escondido, where the brewery has operated for about two decades. The company plans to permanently close the headquarters, which grew into a massive brewing complex as Stone expanded from its 1996 launch into one of the most recognizable names of the West Coast craft beer boom.

Sapporo, which acquired Stone in 2022, sold the brand in April to Paso Robles-based Firestone Walker Brewing Co. and Duvel Moortgat USA for an undisclosed amount, according to SFGate. The deal included Stone’s brand and four hospitality locations: Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at Liberty Station in San Diego, plus taprooms in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, Oceanside, and Pasadena.

Firestone Walker CEO Nick Firestone said the company has hired more than 200 former Stone employees, and none of the current layoffs involve Firestone Walker workers. Production is expected to be transferred to Firestone Walker’s facilities in Paso Robles and Kansas City, Missouri.

Stone had already scaled back its California footprint before the sale. The Chronicle reported in 2021 that Stone’s Napa taproom and brewery closed after three years in the historic Borreo Building, following a Superior Court ruling that allowed its landlord to evict the brewery over unpaid rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure cost 40 workers their jobs.

Stone’s arrival had reportedly given Napa’s relatively small beer scene a higher profile, drawing both tourists and locals to the downtown location. Co-founder Greg Koch had been interested in the Borreo property for years before Stone signed its lease; the building had sat vacant for 15 years, per the Chronicle.

The Napa taproom did face challenges even before the pandemic, however, as the local beer industry struggled to compete with Sonoma County, which had become home to major craft breweries including Russian River Brewing.

Stone is not the only California craft beer brand to have been acquired by Firestone Walker. In March, the company purchased Berkeley-based Trumer Pils, which subsequently closed its brewery and moved production to Paso Robles, as SFGate reported.

Sapporo’s California beer holdings have also undergone major changes since the Japanese brewing giant acquired Stone. Sapporo shut down San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing in 2023, and the Anchor brand was purchased the following year by Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya. Production at Anchor’s Potrero Hill brewery has yet to resume, but there have been some recent signs of life.

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