Iconic West Coast beer brand Stone Brewing to leave SoCal while laying off hundreds of workers

Hundreds of workers are set to lose their jobs after one of the largest breweries in Southern California announced its production facilities will be leaving the region. Stone Brewing will be exiting its three locations in Escondido as the company moves production to Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County and to Kansas City. Workers brew, bottle and pack craft beer at Stone Brewery in Escondido. AP Stone Brewing launched in 1996 in San Marcos and relocated to Escondido in 2006. AP The craft beer pioneer will first lay off 58 workers in late October before eventually axing a total of 220 employees, according to a notification letter filed with the state. Stone Brewing was acquired by Japanese beer giant Sapporo in 2022 to take on production of Sapporo beers in California for distribution acro