Blue Diamond’s midtown manufacturing plant to shut down in 3 phases
Blue Diamond’s manufacturing plant in Sacramento will close gradually over the next 18 to 24 months, with the first layoffs beginning in September, according to a layoff notice filed with the state Monday.
The company notified workers last week that it planned to shutter the historic midtown plant, a move that city officials have feared for decades. The facility is one of the city’s larger private employers, and its closure will empty a 50-acre manufacturing site in one of Sacramento’s central neighborhoods.
The company said the facility, which dates back to 1914, had become inefficient, and its other manufacturing sites in Turlock and Salida are closer to the bulk of the almond farmers who collectively own and supply Blue Diamond. Last week a company official said shuttering the site is the company’s “only option” to protect the cooperative’s farmers.
In the notice to the state this week, the almond cooperative said employees would be laid off gradually, in three phases. The first phase will begin in September, the second in March, and the third in September of 2026.
About half of the plant’s 632 workers will remain on Blue Diamond’s payroll until the final phase of the shutdown, the notice said.
The company said last week that it would offer incentives to workers who remain on during the transition, and provide severance for those who are laid off. Some would be offered positions at other sites, and at the urging of local officials, the company’s headquarters will remain in Sacramento.
The company said Tuesday that some of its corporate employees will remain with Blue Diamond, and are not among the 632 workers affected by the layoff plan.
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 1:17 PM.
