More than 1,000 job cuts jolt workers in East Bay and Wine Country

More than 1,000 job cuts loom in the East Bay and elsewhere in the Bay Area, including several hundred layoffs spawned by the pending exit of the Oakland A’s, official state government filings show.

The latest mass layoffs to menace the Bay Area economy arose from the upcoming departure of the Oakland baseball team, the bankruptcy of a Wine Country company and the implosion of a Richmond green tech company.

An estimated 1,071 Bay Area workers are losing their jobs due to the departure of one organization and the collapse of two other employers, WARN letters sent to the state Employment Development Department show.

The Oakland A’s, a catering group based at the Oakland Coliseum, green energy firm Moxion Power and wine producer Vintage Wine Estates have all disclosed plans for big job cuts that will affect workers in the Bay Area.

Here are the details of the job cuts involving these employers in the East Bay and Wine Country, according to the WARN letters on file with the state EDD:

— The departure of the Oakland A’s will cause the loss of 591 jobs. These consist of 415 layoffs by Athletics Investment Group, which does business as the baseball team; and 176 staffing reductions by Bay Area Sports Catering, which provides concession services during games at the baseball stadium.

— Moxion Power is cutting 247 jobs in Richmond due to the closure of the green battery company’s operations in the East Bay city. Including a disclosure in June that it would cut 101 jobs, Moxion Power has decided to slash 348 jobs in the East Bay city, where it maintains its headquarters.

— Vintage Wine Estates is slashing 233 Bay Area jobs at several locations in the Wine Country regions of Sonoma County and Napa County. In regions near the Bay Area, the wine seller is cutting more positions in Mendocino County and San Luis Obispo County.

The Oakland A’s, as part of a decision to build a new baseball stadium in Las Vegas, said the job cuts would occur sometime in early October.

The A’s baseball team intends to play its games at a minor league ballpark in Sacramento for the 2025 season while the baseball team seeks to construct and open a major league complex in Las Vegas.

“In April 2024, we announced that 2024 will be our final season in Oakland, and as a result, there will be a reduction in force,” Oakland A’s vice president of people operations Adam Scoggan stated in a WARN letter to the state EDD.

Originally Published: July 29, 2024 at 1:45 p.m.