Amy’s Kitchen will close its Santa Rosa manufacturing plant in phases over the coming months, cutting roughly 207 jobs at the Northpoint Parkway facility and contributing to about 260 affected positions across its broader manufacturing network. Layoffs are expected to begin late this year and wrap up by summer 2027 after suffering in California.
The Petaluma-based maker of organic vegetarian packaged foods confirmed the plan after it was first reported by The Press Democrat. CEO Paul Schiefer said the company had evaluated alternatives before deciding to shut down the Santa Rosa operation, attributing the move to a manufacturing network that had grown more complicated than its current needs require.
Production Shifting to Oregon and Idaho
Under the restructuring plan, Amy’s will assign production by product category. Its Medford, Oregon facility, opened in 2005 and built specifically to support meal production, will handle pizza, soup and burritos. The Pocatello, Idaho plant, which Amy’s opened in 2014 after acquiring a former Kraft Heinz facility and planning $75 million in upgrades, will become the company’s dedicated entrée operation.
About 51 additional jobs will be cut at the Pocatello canning operation as that work relocates to Medford. Amy’s said it plans to provide separation packages, job-placement assistance and counseling to workers affected by the closure, and stressed that the shutdown is not a reflection of employee performance. Amy’s Kitchen Santa Rosa plant closure The company said demand for its products remains strong, with retail sales approaching $1 billion earlier this year and leading market share in several organic categories.
A History of Cutbacks Across the Region
The Santa Rosa closure is not Amy’s first significant retreat in California. The company shut a 74,000-square-foot leased facility in East San Jose in July 2022, laying off 331 workers just 16 months after it opened. State WARN filings at the time showed the plant was losing roughly $1 million per month due to inflation, supply chain problems and rising pizza-ingredient costs.
The Santa Rosa plant itself has had a turbulent recent history. In January 2022, worker Cecilia Luna Ojeda filed a complaint alleging unsafe conditions tied to fast-paced repetitive work, which contributed to a Cal/OSHA fine of $25,000 for 13 health and safety violations. Labor organizing efforts led UNITE HERE Local 19 and Teamsters Local 665 to file unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, and a resulting boycott ran until June 2024, when Amy’s agreed to bilingual employee service representatives, safety improvements and a 3% merit wage increase. Amy’s has maintained that those labor disputes did not raise local operating costs or influence the closure decision.
What Comes Next for the Company and Sonoma County
Sonoma State University economist Robert Eyler has said food manufacturing at scale is becoming increasingly difficult in Sonoma County, a trend that Amy’s consolidation reflects. The Santa Rosa plant employed about 630 workers as recently as 2022, making the phased closure a significant loss for the local manufacturing base.
Amy’s Kitchen will keep its corporate headquarters in Petaluma and continues to sell more than 260 products through U.S. and international retailers. Co-founders Andy and Rachel Berliner, who launched the company in 1987, have been stepping back from day-to-day leadership, and their Stinson Beach estate listed for $16 million in May 2026. The Northpoint Parkway plant’s closure marks the end of Amy’s manufacturing presence in Sonoma County.
