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America’s largest wine producer is closing yet another California facility and cutting jobs, deepening a wave of shutdowns as the state’s wine industry struggles through aprolonged slump.
Modesto-based Gallo revealed plans to shutter its Lodi crush facility and lay off 20 employees, the latest blow in a series of closures by the alcohol giant during atough chapterfor California winemakers.
A spokesperson for Gallo said the decision to close the San Joaquin County facility “reflects available capacity in our other wineries in the region.”
The facility on West Turner Road processes grapes into wine for growers who don’t have their own winemaking operations, according to theSan Francisco Chronicle.
The spokesperson said affected employees had been “individually notified” and were receiving support from the company.
Meanwhile, the Lodi shutdown is just the latest in a series of recent cutbacks by Gallo.
Earlier this year, the company announced it would drop three Bay Area locations, including its Ranch Winery in Helena, resulting in nearly 100 job losses.
Last year, Gallo also closed its 300,000-square-foot Courtside Cellars winery in San Luis Obispo County.
This latest closure arrives as California’s $55 billion wine industry grapples with a third consecutive year of shrinking demand.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
