Calistoga’s largest employer, the Calistoga Beverage Co., is slashing more than 75 percent of its work force because of sluggish sales of bottled water and a decision to shift production to plants in Southern California.
Parent company Nestlé Waters gave layoff notices to 80 workers at the bottling plant on the east side of Calistoga, namesake for the iconic brand founded in 1924.
The layoffs are in response to poor sales for other brands in the Nestlé Waters portfolio. U.S. sales of nonalcoholic beverages are expected to grow only 1 percent this year, with little increase projected next year as consumers cut back on purchases in the face of higher energy and food costs, job losses and falling home values.
