Layoffs

Firestone Walker Brewing Company is retrenching from three more New England states and laying off nine members of its sales team in those states, Brewbound has learned.

Reyes Beer Division, the nation’s largest wholesaler of beer, has laid off some of its 5,700-person workforce, a company spokesperson confirmed.

Contrary to previous reports, some businesses with backing from private equity or venture capital firms are eligible for loans under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Stone Brewing Company laid off employees of its restaurants, taprooms and distributions sales force, which amounted about 306 workers. Some state lawmakers have proposed bills that would extend business interruption insurance clauses to cover losses sustained from closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced Tuesday that it will postpone tax payments and filing deadlines as its constituent businesses grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Craftworks Holdings has laid off its nationwide staff of 18,000 people, according to Westword.

Ball Corporation has added production of 32 oz. crowler cans and expects to have a supply ready to hit the market in two days. The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the $2 trillion stimulus package to aid the public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Deschutes Brewery founder Gary Fish told the Bend Bulletin that the company has laid off about 60% of its staff.

San Diego, California-headquartered Green Flash Brewing has furloughed or laid off most of its staff, VP of marketing Ben Widseth confirmed to Brewbound on Tuesday evening.

Deschutes Brewery has laid off “well over 100” employees after temporarily shuttering its pubs and tasting rooms and scaling back on-premise sales through distribution, VP of sales and marketing Neal Stewart confirmed to Brewbound.

As on-premise consumption has ceased almost nationwide in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19, the preservation of capital is now paramount for both packaging and taproom breweries, attorney Mike Drumm advised craft brewers during a Brewers Association (BA) Power Hour session titled “Beer in a Time of Disruption” on Monday.

As the hospitality industry grapples with the impact of mandated closures of restaurants, bars, brewery taprooms and tasting rooms, craft breweries and brewpubs are beginning to announce staff layoffs and furloughs.

The Boston Beer Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer will launch its Wild Berry flavor on draft nationwide on March 2, replacing the unflavored Truly on Tap draft offering that rolled out in August. Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company has laid off at least eight employees, according to the Full Pint.

Lagunitas Brewing Company is cutting less than 5% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan, the Heineken-owned, Petaluma, California-based craft brewery confirmed today to Brewbound.

Richard Mahoney, the chairman of the board of The Wine Group, is the lead investor in Chicagoland craft brewery Kings & Convicts’ acquisition of Ballast Point Brewing Company from Constellation Brands, according to the ChicagoTribune. Brooklyn Brewery restructures sales force.

Molson Coors’ future direction became more clear today following the announcement that the company will restructure its operations and slash its workforce. Prior to late July’s second quarter earnings call, the company announced that CEO Mark Hunter would retire at the end of September, and Gavin Hattersley, the CEO of U.S. business division MillerCoors, would… Read more »