In this guide8 sections
In July 2025, PepsiCo said it would end production, maintenance and transport work at its Detroit beverage plant, laying off about 83 people while warehouse, delivery and sales teams stayed. The plant is in Michigan, but California companies also shut down part of a site and keep the rest. If that happens to you here, you may be entitled to advance notice, full final pay on your last day, time to review a severance offer, and unemployment benefits.
Key takeaways
- A partial shutdown can still trigger California’s 60-day WARN notice if 50 or more people are laid off within 30 days at a covered site (Labor Code §§1400.5, 1401).
- The federal WARN Act can also apply when an operating unit inside a site shuts down.
- When you are laid off, all final wages, including earned vacation, are due on your last day (Labor Code §§201, 227.3).
- You must get at least five business days to consider a separation agreement (Gov. Code §12964.5).
What PepsiCo announced
According to a July 24, 2025 trade report on the company’s Michigan WARN notice, PepsiCo said it would “discontinue its production, maintenance and transport operations” at the Detroit facility effective September 27, 2025. Warehouse, fleet, delivery, sales and field-service teams were to keep working there. The report noted earlier PepsiCo closures in other states, including California snack facilities. Follow California filings on our California layoff tracker.
When a partial closure requires notice in California
California’s WARN Act (Labor Code §§1400–1408) covers a facility that employs, or employed in the past 12 months, 75 or more people, counting workers employed at least 6 of the prior 12 months. A covered employer generally must give 60 days’ written notice before:
- A mass layoff: laying off 50 or more employees in any 30-day period.
- A termination: stopping all or substantially all operations at the facility.
- A relocation: moving operations 100 miles or more away.
So if a plant ends production and lays off 83 workers but keeps its warehouse and drivers, the cut can still be a “mass layoff” under California law. Notice goes to affected employees, EDD, the local workforce board and local officials, and since January 1, 2026 it must include rapid response and CalFresh information (see EDD’s WARN page). More on Cal-WARN notice rights.
Without required notice, affected employees may recover back pay and benefits for up to 60 days, or half the days worked if less (§1402).
The federal WARN Act
The federal law generally applies to employers with 100 or more full-time employees. Its “plant closing” rule covers shutting down a single site or one or more operating units within it, if 50 or more full-time employees lose their jobs in 30 days. A federal “mass layoff” generally requires at least 50 workers who are 33% of the site’s full-time workforce, or 500 or more (20 CFR §639.3). Check both laws.
Example (hypothetical): A 300-person bottling plant in the Inland Empire ends its production line and lays off 60 machine operators, keeping 240 warehouse and delivery employees. That is only 20% of the site, so it may not be a federal mass layoff, though it could be a federal plant closing if the line is a separate operating unit. Cal-WARN likely applies either way.
Your final paycheck
When you are laid off, your final wages are due immediately, on your last day (Labor Code §201). Earned, unused vacation or PTO must be paid at your final rate (§227.3). A willfully late final check may trigger a waiting-time penalty of a day’s wages for each day late, up to 30 days (§203). See the Labor Commissioner’s final pay FAQ and our guide to final paycheck rules.
Severance and who gets picked
Severance generally isn’t required and usually comes in exchange for releasing claims. Your employer must tell you that you may consult a lawyer and give you at least five business days to decide, and it cannot make you sign a release to get wages already owed (Labor Code §206.5). See our guide to severance agreements.
When only some roles are cut, a layoff may be unlawful if workers were selected because of age, disability or another protected trait, a wage or safety complaint, union activity, or protected leave. A union contract may also control seniority, bumping rights and severance.
Frequently asked questions
Part of my plant is still open. Is that a layoff or a closure?
In California it may be a mass layoff: 50 or more people laid off at a covered site within 30 days generally requires 60 days’ notice.
I was offered a transfer. Do these rules still matter?
Yes. If you decline and your job ends, final pay rules apply, and EDD decides unemployment eligibility on your facts.
Does my employer have to pay severance?
Generally no, unless a union contract, written policy or agreement promises it.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance?
Often, yes. EDD decides how severance and pay in lieu of notice affect benefits, so report them. See our unemployment guide.
Talk to a California employment lawyer
Employees First Labor Law represents workers exclusively. We offer free virtual consultations if your California workplace is cutting jobs or your final pay was short. Contact us or call (310) 853-3461.
This article is general information about California law as of 2026, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
