Pizza Hut To Lay Off 1,200 Workers Ahead Of Newsom’s Plan Of Wage Hike

In a move expected to reshape the landscape of fast-food delivery services and the wages of employees in California, hundreds of California Pizza Hut franchises announced job cuts. Around 1200 workers will be affected by the layoff, according to federal and state filings. The layoff comes ahead of statewide minimum wage increases for fast-food workers. 

Pizza Hut, an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise, is set to lay off more than 1200 delivery drivers across Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties in California amid layoff tsunami.

According to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications filed to the California Employment Development Department, Pizza Hut locations, run by two different franchise operators, will lay off 1200 drivers. 

Pizza Hut to lay off 1,200 workers ahead of Newsom’s plan of wage hike

Pizza Hut layoff is expected to go into effect in February 2024. The layoff will be conducted just weeks before the state’s $20 minimum wage policy for fast-food workers will go into effect.

Assembly Bill 1228 repealed the FAST Act and implemented new regulations of the fast food industry in California. Assembly Bill 1228 would raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers by $4, bringing it to $20 per hour.

Pizza Hut operators, PacPizza affiliates and Southern California Pizza Company, confirmed that employees will be fired. The companies said they “made a business decision to eliminate first party delivery services and as a result the elimination of all delivery driver positions.”

Pizza Hut said in a statement that it was “aware of the recent changes to delivery services at certain franchise restaurants in California.”

Pizza Hut will fire employees ahead of the state’s nearly 30% increase in its minimum wage. PacPizza and Southern California Pizza have already given notice of layoffs to 1,200 employees.

Newsom’s plan of wage hike

Gavin Christopher Newsom, the Governor of California, has approved raises for fast food workers. The minimum wage will be increased to $20 per hour for all fast food workers from 2024. The rule will be applied in at least 60 locations throughout the country. 

In October, the governor also signed a new law to increase the days of paid sick leave for all the workers. California workers will get five days sick leave instead of three. He said, “Too many folks are still having to choose between skipping a day’s pay and taking care of themselves or their family members when they get sick.”