• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Stone Brewing sends out two statements on layoffs (one specifically on Richmond rumors)

October 17, 2016Keith Gribbins

Stone Brewing Top Ale America

Unfortunately, Stone Brewing is laying off some employees. That’s part of running a business. Stone saw our coverage of the layoffs last Friday, and they wanted you, the CBB reader, to have all the info. Below are two official statements from Stone, one specifically for the Richmond area.

Richmond-specific statement:

Greg Koch, Stone Brewing executive chairman and co-founder, and Steve Wagner, president and co-founder.

“These adjustments, along with others we’ve made internally, help position Stone for the future — come what may. We are still seeing growth, just more modest growth. We are focused on the long-term development of our business in North America and Europe, including the Eastern seaboard anchored from our new Richmond facility. There are no changes to our plans or our confidence in our Virginia facility. Stone continues to grow, outpacing the market as in the past.

The Richmond staff has been minimally impacted by Stone’s recent restructuring. We provided 60 days of paid salary and career transition services to the few people who were affected, all of which held roles responsible for getting the project up and running. We still employ 61 team members and we will fulfill our 88 total planned brewery positions within our first year of operations. We also plan to hire an additional 200 people with the opening of Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens — Richmond, still on track to open as scheduled before the end of 2019. Our projected barrelage for 2016 remains on track at our Richmond and Escondido breweries.”

From Dominic Engels, Stone Brewing CEO

Due to an unforeseen slowdown in our consistent growth and changes in the craft beer landscape, we have had to make the difficult decision to restructure our staff. Unfortunately, this comes despite a year that includes the incredible accomplishments of opening two new breweries, which are ultimately expanding the availability of Stone beers and boosting the reputation of American craft beer in Europe.

More recently however, the larger independent craft segment has developed tremendous pressures. Specifically, the onset of greater pressures from Big Beer as a result of their acquisition strategies, and the further proliferation of small, hyper-local breweries has slowed growth. With business and the market now less predictable, we must restructure to preserve a healthy future for our company. Even given this unfortunate circumstance, we will continue to be fiercely independent and, importantly, Stone remains one of the largest — if not the largest — employers in the craft brewing segment.

It is crucial to recognize that this decision was made after much careful consideration. Approximately 5% of all team members were affected, and they were offered a substantial notice period including 60 days paid salary (more for those with extensive tenure) and career transition services. The team members no longer with our company are talented, committed individuals who have held important roles in our organization, and we expect that their talents will be in high demand. This reduction was not a reflection of the work they did, but a careful decision made to ensure that our company will remain competitive and profitable. No additional layoffs are expected within Stone’s foreseeable future.

In summary, we want to emphasize the following points:

  • This year, we completed several significant investments that have been in the works for a number of years.

  • A recent decline in domestic growth for the category and for Stone has forced us to restructure in order to preserve our independence in an increasingly competitive category.

  • Stone remains one of the largest — if not the largest — employer in the craft beer segment and remains dedicated to providing our fans with fresh beer

United States Bartenders’ Guild now has access to WOTVS Hospitality Assistance Program
Colorado’s Resolute Brewing shares its 2022 year in review (rebrands and invests in local malt)
Pucks-N-Pints
San Diego breweries gear up for Pucks & Pints Charity Hockey Game
distribution money beer bottle metaphor gap solution cbb crop
The Acceleration Group targets craft spirits with specialty lending platform

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Takehiko Nakahara says

    October 17, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Takehiko Nakahara liked this on Facebook.

    Log in to Reply
  2. KCHopTalk says

    October 17, 2016 at 1:25 pm

    Stone Brewing sends out two statements on layoffs (one specifically on Richmond rumors) https://t.co/memHnH6TSs

    Log in to Reply
  3. crsimp01 says

    October 17, 2016 at 10:25 am

    Stone Brewing sends out two statements on layoffs (one on Richmond) https://t.co/VVLtGQiEfO via @craftbrewingbiz

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • MicroStar Logistics launches Network Services Division to manage reusable plastic pallets for the beer Industry
  • Analyst speculates on Heineken acquiring Boston Beer, stock jumps
  • United States Bartenders’ Guild now has access to WOTVS Hospitality Assistance Program
  • Tröegs new canning line will increase production and accommodate new packaging types

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Koga-brothers-karben4Karben4 Brewing to relaunch Ale Asylum brand
    March 20, 2023
  • 4 steps to understanding the filtration process in craft beer
    March 20, 2023
  • newbelgium_2023_wildnectar-shopping-basket_family_IMG_2Beyond beer: Examples of craft breweries exploring canned cocktails
    March 16, 2023
  • brooklyn 35 featureBrooklyn Lager turns 35 and more beers to know this week
    March 14, 2023
  • Backwoods Brewing to open a 19-acre resort called Party Acres in the Columbia River gorge this May
    March 13, 2023
  • Distribution update: NYC’s Alewife Brewing now sells in eastern Pennsylvania + news from Maui, Urban South and more
    March 13, 2023

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2023 · CBB Media LLC