California keeps getting slammed with bad news.
Between factories all across the state shutting down…
ICE raids decimating farms…
It’s just been a rough year.
And unfortunately, California’s food and beverage processing sector is preparing to lose a big, long-running industrial site as Blue Diamond Growers announced the upcoming closure of its Sacramento plant. The company confirmed the shutdown will proceed in phases, affecting roughly 600 employees at the facility before its full closure and decommissioning over the next 18 months or so.
The Sacramento plant, located in Midtown on a 50-acre site, has produced almond products for domestic and international markets for decades. No doubt due in part to its advanced age, the plant has become too costly and inefficient compared with Blue Diamond’s newer operations in Turlock and Salida, and Blue Diamond has indicated that it will transfer most manufacturing functions to those locations.
The decision comes amid mounting cost and competitive pressures across nut-processing and food-manufacturing industries. Companies face higher expenses for energy, raw materials, transportation and labour. In addition, global trade dynamics and supply-chain disruptions have made legacy manufacturing sites less viable. Analysts say many firms are consolidating operations into fewer, more efficient plants to maintain margins.
And more broadly, of course, it’s hard to talk about any of this without discussing the huge macroeconomic shock of the trade war. From retaliatory tariffs all the way up to total boycotts of American goods – there’s been an enormous impact on demand for American goods, including food.
And of course, as international demand declines, producers have to cut production…and usually jobs. Unfortunately, that can then lead to domestic softness, as workers who are facing uncertainty or just see friends facing their own difficulties start tightening their belts. Those impacts can ripple outin a lot of new and different directions, slowing the overall domestic economy.
Put it all together, and it’s rough out there. Blue Diamond has given its workers plenty of notice and is supporting them in a variety of ways – but it’s still tough news, no way around it. Please join us in wishing the impacted workers well and hoping they land on their feet.
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