Laid off from Molson Coors.

What Molson Coors layoffs have meant for employees

Molson Coors explained its Irwindale and Wisconsin brewery closings, and MillerCoors its Eden closing, by pointing to the rest of the network. Molson Coors' January 2020 release said other breweries had the spare capacity to absorb Irwindale's beer and that the closing sat outside the October 2019 restructuring, and chief supply chain officer Brian Erhardt tied the Wisconsin closings to the end of a long-term contract brewing deal and more spending on the canning line at the big Milwaukee brewery, BizTimes reported. MillerCoors cited declining volume and an overlap with its Shenandoah brewery when it decided to close Eden, according to a 2015 BizTimes story. In all three cases the plan was to keep brewing the beer at the company's other plants.

At Chippewa Falls, the company planned some last days after the closing date. Molson Coors expected most separations on or about January 17, 2025, or within 14 days, planned to keep two salaried employees into February, and told Wisconsin it would report any later change in timing in writing, its Chippewa Falls letter shows. The same letter says workers heard the plan that week and that notice went to Teamsters Local 662, which represented the hourly staff. More than a quarter of the company's Americas workforce was represented by unions or councils at the end of 2025, its 10-K for 2025 says. If a closing keeps you on to wind things down, your own date can fall weeks after the one in the news.

The 2019 office consolidation worked differently. When Molson Coors moved that year to close its Denver office and fold the work into Chicago and its other offices, some of the people leaving were asked to help with the handover and offered severance and retention packages, the 10-K for 2020 recounts. The company booked that pay over each person's required period of service and said its cost would depend on how many people left before meeting the eligibility requirements. If an exit package you're weighing pays you to stay to a set date and another job is waiting, those two dates are the ones to compare.

Molson Coors framed its 2025 cut as a way to reinvest in priority brands and in adjacent categories such as premium mixers, non-alcohol beverages and energy drinks, its October 2025 release said, adding that the cost would vary with each employee's elections and be paid over the next twelve months. The cut's announced size counted positions, so it runs higher than the number of people let go, and neither the release nor the company's second-quarter 2026 filing puts a number on those people. The round covered salaried positions only, so hourly staff sat outside it. Payments of $20.6 million went out over the first six months of 2026, and the plan's remaining employee-related accrual stood at $12.7 million at June 30, the same filing shows.

Molson Coors and MillerCoors have sent layoff notices to Wisconsin, California, Colorado and North Carolina, according to our WARN tracker, and two were followed by later filings. Colorado logged an update in January 2020 to the Denver notice dated October 30, 2019, the day the company's earnings release announced the restructuring, and California logged a second Baldwin Park closure notice in September 2020, listing 462 jobs against January's 425. If your job is on a notice, the dates and counts in it can move before the work ends. If you're claiming benefits in Wisconsin, Colorado or California, each state's claim rules are on our Wisconsin, Colorado and California unemployment pages.

A sourced history of Molson Coors layoffs

• October 2025, salaried cuts across the Americas

  Molson Coors planned to eliminate about 400 salaried positions across its Americas business by the end of December, counting roles already open and people who might be granted voluntary severance, its October 2025 release said.

• November 2024, Chippewa Falls and 10th Street closings announced

  Molson Coors filed Wisconsin notices to close its Chippewa Falls brewery and the 10th Street brewery in Milwaukee, covering 56 and 34 jobs, BizTimes reported. Its Chippewa Falls letter set that closing for around January 17, 2025, with Leinie's Lodge and a pilot brewery staying open.

• January 2020, Irwindale, California brewery closing

  Molson Coors said it would end production at Irwindale, where about 470 people worked, by September 2020 and shift it mainly to Golden and Fort Worth, its January 2020 release said. Production stopped in the third quarter, the 10-K for 2020 says.

• October 2019, Denver office closing and Chicago headquarters

  Molson Coors named Chicago its North American headquarters and moved to close its Denver office, expecting to cut 400 to 500 jobs, its October 2019 filing said. The 10-K for 2020 later counted about 600 fewer employees worldwide from the plan.

• Late 2018, U.S. restructuring of about 300 jobs

  Molson Coors began a global restructuring centered on the U.S. in the third quarter of 2018 to fit its costs to its business, and U.S. employment fell by about 300 in the fourth quarter, its 10-K for 2020 recounts.

• September 2015, MillerCoors announces Eden, North Carolina brewery closing

  MillerCoors said it would close the Eden brewery, where about 520 people worked, by September 2016 and move its beer to Milwaukee and other breweries over 12 months, BizTimes reported.

What to do if you're laid off from Molson Coors

• File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Molson Coors's biggest hubs: Wisconsin, Colorado, California. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
• Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Molson Coors's hub states run: Wisconsin, Colorado, California, and every other state is here.
• Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
• Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
• Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.