Frito-Lay to close San Bernadino County warehouse, lay off 247 employees
Frito-Lay, the snack company that makes Doritos and Cheetos, is laying off 247 employees and closing its facility in Rancho Cucamonga, the company confirmed Friday. The vast warehouse will shut down in June. Frito-Lay announced last summer that manufacturing operations at the same location were coming to an end. The plant has been a major employer in the area since opening in 1970, staffing thousands over its 55-year run.The Plano, Texas-based snack maker filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN notice, on Feb. 10. “We will be shifting these operations to a new distribution center in the local community to better serve our customers and consumers,” the company said in a statement to The Times. “We are committed to treating impacted employees with the utmost care.”Frito-Lay, owned by PepsiCo Foods, said the affected employees will be given pay and benefits continuation as well as career support. The facility in Rancho Cucamonga opened in 1970 on Archibald Avenue. The company introduced its popular Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in 1990. Richard Montañez, a former Frito-Lay employee, claimed for years that he invented the spicy snack, but an investigation by The Times in 2021 found he was not the actual creator. Frito-Lay operates more than 30 manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Canada and more than 200 distribution centers. It employees about 60,000 people in North America. The company also has supply centers in Torrance and near Buena Park. Its parent company, PepsiCo, is based in Harrison, N.Y. PepsiCo shares were stable in midday trading on Friday at $164.48 per share. Shares have risen 10% over the last year. The Rancho Cucamonga closure follows other PepsiCo facility shutdowns. The company previously announced the closure of a Frito-Lay plant in Liberty, N.Y., laying off 287 workers, and cut 56 jobs at a warehouse in Maryland.Last year, Pepsi Chief Executive Ramon Laguarta said the company was “right-sizing the cost” of its snacks division amid a drop in Frito-Lay sales.San Bernardino County has seen other mass layoffs recently. In May, the shipping giant DHL shut down a package handling facility in Ontario, affecting hundreds of employees.
