Bronco Winery of rural Ceres announced that it will be issuing permanent layoff notices to 81 workers due to a significant downturn in wine sales, triggering the reorganization in operations and workforce.
The jobs will be cut on April 8 including truck drivers, mechanics, lift truck operators, security, cellar supervisors, viticulturists and microbiology technicians.
The wine industry has faced tough economic challenges due to flagging sales in recent years. According to the annual release of the Silicon Valley Bank Wine Report, total wine volumes were down 2.4% in 2024 and likely to continue declining this year. Reasons include the economy, an oversupply of wholesale inventory, a robust worldwide anti-alcohol movement, and because Millennials and Gen Z people prefer to drink alcoholic seltzers and cocktails or abstain from alcoholic beverages altogether.
The result is that some wineries have shuttered, including Carlisle Winery, Clos du Bois and Sebastiani , all in Sonoma; and the Tarpon Cellars and Brendel Wines in Napa.
The family-owned company, established in 1973, is known for its “Two Buck Chuck” which is sold at Trader Joe’s as Charles Shaw wine since 2002. But Bronco has a vast portfolio of brands from multiple appellations across the western United States, Europe, and South America, including Rosenblum Cellars, Carmenet, Picket Fence, Crane Lake Cellars and Longevity Wines.
News of the layoffs came on Feb. 6 when the company complied with the 1988 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act which requires larger companies – defined as having 100 or more employees – to give 60 days’ advance warning of forthcoming layoffs and or plant closures.
Bronco Winery was co-founded in 1973 by Fred T. Franzia, his brother Joseph Franzia and cousin John Franzia. Fred Franzia died in 2022 and John Franzia died nearly a year ago. In November Dominic Engels became the CEO of Bronco after the retirement of Daniel J. Leonard.
Bronco Wine Co. is one of the largest privately held U.S. vineyard holders and has established full vertical integration from vine to table.
