Iconic West Coast beer brand Stone Brewing to leave SoCal while laying off hundreds of workers

Over 200 workers are being laid off as Stone Brewing shutters its longtime headquarters in Escondido and moves production operations out of San Diego County. This transition marks a significant shift for the company, which has been established in Southern California for years. The decision follows a change in ownership, as the new owner implements plans to relocate manufacturing away from the West Coast.

Yahoo Finance, the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune, SFGATE, and the New York Post report that these workforce reductions are part of a broader move away from the region. The coverage confirms that the company is leaving its longtime base, though specific details regarding the new production sites or the exact timeline for the full transition are not yet specified. While the layoffs and the closure of the California headquarters have been confirmed, the long-term impact on the brand's distribution and the specific relocation destination for its production remain unclear.

Future announcements from the company are expected to clarify the logistics of this move and the total scope of the transition, as coverage does not yet specify where operations will be headquartered moving forward.