As the sale of Modern Times to Maui Brewing inches closer, the San Diego craft brewery has provided notice of plans to lay off more than 120 workers in early October. However, many of the affected employees are expected to be rehired by the Hawaii-headquartered acquirer of Modern Times once the sale closes in the fall.
Modern Times Drinks filed five Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices with the state of California on August 9, noting plans to lay off 124 employees at a warehouse and four taprooms, effective October 4. The layoffs break down to:
- 16 employees at a warehouse (3612 Kurtz St.) in San Diego;
- 15 employees at the Far West Lounge taproom (470 S. Coast Highway 101) in Encinitas;
- 57 employees at the Lomaland Fermentorium taproom (3725 Greenwood St.) in San Diego;
- 3 employees at the Flavordome taproom (3000 Upas St.) in San Diego;
- And 33 employees at the Leisuretown taproom (549 S. Anaheim Blvd.) in Anaheim.
The WARN Act requires most employers with 100 or more workers to give 60 days’ notice of a planned plant closing or mass layoff. The San Diego Union-Tribune, which first reported the planned layoffs, said 160 employees would be affected by the job cuts.
Scott Metzger, Maui Brewing chief operating officer, explained that the acquiring company has no plans of conducting “a mass layoff” and the WARN notices were “a required formality” of Modern Times Drinks Inc., the previous company that employed the existing workforce and will dissolve once the sale to Maui closes.
“When the sale closes, the MT [Modern Times] team will be part of a new legal entity,” Metzger added. “While we are still working through the exact details, we have no intentions of a mass layoff and we look forward to welcoming the MT team into our Ohana.”
Modern Times CEO Jennifer Briggs told the Union-Tribune that the brewery’s workforce was notified of the WARN notices during a Zoom meeting prior to the filing. She added that the two companies are working on integration, which is expected to pick up this week.
“I am genuinely excited about the future of these two companies, and that is something I haven’t been able to say through this whole process until now,” Briggs told the outlet.
In late July, Maui confirmed plans to go ahead with the $15.3 million acquisition of Modern Times through a court-appointed receivership sale process.
Maui and Modern Times combined are projected to produce 125,000 barrels this year, which would make the joint entity the 21st largest craft brewery by volume in the U.S., according to Maui, citing Brewers Association production numbers. Maui is on pace to produce 90,000 barrels in 2022, aided by a partnership with Denver-based contract producer Sleeping Giant, which now brews all of Maui bev-alc offerings distributed on the mainland.
Zions Bancorporation (California Bank & Trust) triggered the court-ordered sale process of Modern Times earlier this year, after the brewery defaulted on several loans.