Genentech, Intel and Golden Gate Fields cut workers
1,000-plus jobs are lost in a large swath of the Bay Area
Golden Gate Fields, Genentech and Intel are among the latest high-profile employers to disclose plans to chop Bay Area jobs soon, disquieting new revelations that hint at a wobbly regional economy.
More than 1,000 jobs are being lost in the Bay Area as a result of the latest staffing reductions companies disclosed in official notices they sent to the state Employment Development Department (EDD).
This time around, however, the vast majority of the layoffs are not in the tech industry, a sector that has been trimming jobs at an elevated pace for more than two years.
Even so, chipmaker Intel and electric vehicle charging firm Volta are among the latest tech companies that revealed plans for staffing reductions in the Bay Area, according to the public posts on the EDD website.
Here are details for some of the latest job cuts affecting workers in the Bay Area, based on the EDD posts:
• Golden Gate Fields, whose parent is Pacific Racing Association, is chopping 203 jobs in Berkeley at the racetrack. These are part of a permanent closure of that site. The layoffs are due to occur around June 9.
• Genentech, a biotech behemoth, is slashing 436 jobs in South San Francisco. These cuts are permanent and are scheduled for June 5.
• Intel, a semiconductor titan, is cutting 62 jobs, all in Santa Clara, including at the tech company's headquarters.
• Volta, which operates a network of electric vehicle charging stations, is chopping 68 jobs as part of its permanent closure of a San Francisco facility. The charging stations often include large digital screens that provide advertising. In 2023, a unit of energy leviathan Shell announced it had struck a deal to buy Volta.
• Sanofi, a France-based pharmaceutical company, is cutting 100 jobs in South San Francisco as part of a
permanent shutdown of operations there of a company Sanofi bought in 2022. The closure is scheduled for June 2.
• Temple Nightclub in San Francisco plans to chop 86 jobs as part of a permanent closure of the drinking and nightlife establishment. The shutdown is scheduled for May 25, the WARN notice stated.
• Telecare, a provider of mental health and psychiatric services, is permanently closing a Redwood City operation, cutting 100 employees.
In the most recent batch of layoffs, companies are cutting 1,055 jobs.
In 2022, 2023 and so far in 2024, tech companies have revealed plans to slash more than 38,600 jobs in the Bay Area.
Pacific Racing Association provided some details in the WARN letter to the EDD regarding the wind-down of operations at Golden Gate Fields, which straddles the border of Berkeley and Albany.
“Live racing, and all ancillary activities, including, but not limited to food service, guest services, ticket sales, etc., will cease on June 9, 2024,” the Golden Gate Fields WARN letter stated. “All horses will vacate their stalls no later than June 19, 2024.”
Once normal business operations cease, the staffing levels at the famed horse racing track in the East Bay will shrink to a skeleton crew, the WARN letter indicated.
The final group of staffers will include about 20 security workers who accept an offer of continued employment through the final closure date; the general manager; the assistant general manager; the senior director of administration; and select employees who will assist with the winddown operation, including coordination of asset liquidation and other activities. This last group will consist of no more than 15 workers.
“All remaining employees will have duties limited to monitoring the property to provide security services including prevention of attractive nuisance issues that might arise from the vacancy of the property, managing the distribution, sale, liquidation, and destruction of the physical property and buildings at Golden Gate Fields,” the racing association stated in the WARN letter.
The WARN letter hinted that the wind-down operations will be completed before the end of 2024.
“It is anticipated that the minimal staff of employees will continue to be employed for a period of at least one to six months” after the early June halt to normal operations, the WARN letter stated.