Revol Greens first harvested lettuce grown in a massive greenhouse in Cummings Valley west of Tehachapi in 2021. On April 19, the company provided notice that it would lay off about 100 employees on June 18. But a spokesperson for the company on Monday said it is not closing down its Tehachapi operation.
California law requires notice of at least 60 calendar days before any planned plant closure or mass layoff. The company provided a WARN notice to the state Employment Development Department, Kern County's Chief Workforce Development Officer Aaron Ellis, Chairman David Couch of the Kern County Board of Supervisors and Tehachapi Mayor Michael Davies.
"These layoffs are expected to be permanent," the company wrote, noting that there is no union at the facility and employees have no bumping rights.
On Monday morning, Tom Thompson of Revol Greens said the company recently changed the mix of what it grows in Tehachapi and is now mainly growing head lettuces there. In December 2023, Revol Greens reported it produced more than 16 million pounds of lettuce a year in the Cummings Valley greenhouse. At the time, Thompson said there were about 100 employees there.
Although the WARN notice appeared to cover all of the company's workforce in Tehachapi, Thompson said Monday that there will still be Revol Greens employees working there after the June 18 layoff date.
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