Mexican food manufacturer cuts 176 California jobs after moving to Texas

Massive layoffs are underway at the largest frozen Mexican food maker in America two years after Ruiz Foods moved its headquarters from California to Texas.

The company is slashing 176 jobs at its plant in Dinuba, about 40 miles south of Fresno, according to a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice obtained by SF Gate. The company produces hundreds of Mexican food items like burritos, enchiladas, tamales, quesadillas, and more under its brands Tornados and El Monterey.

Those affected team members were notified on September 2, with the job cuts accounting for 12.5% of the work force at the plant, the company said in a statement to The Post.

The cuts will take effect on November 4 at the manufacturing facility that currently employs 1,400 people.

The company said in November the production cycle will be cut to 5 days in order to “better match production needs, align with operating schedules at other Ruiz Foods manufacturing facilities, and provide Dinuba employees with weekends off.”

“This difficult decision impacts valued members of our team and is necessary to better align production capacity with anticipated customer demand,” said Ruiz Foods president and CEO, Kimberli Carroll.

The cuts hit hard for the Central Valley, where the company slashed more than 200 jobs in 2024 when it closed down its manufacturing facility in Tulare, about 40 miles south of the Dinuba location, the Visalia Times Delta reported.

“After 20 years of service, we have determined that the facility is too small and requires substantial capital investment to meet our manufacturing needs or remain a viable part of the Ruiz Foods network,” the company told the outlet at the time.

That same year the Mexican food maker moved their headquarters from Dinuba to Frisco, Texas.

A Dinuba Facebook Group posted about the layoffs, with many people suggesting it happened because the state is “poisonous to successful businesses.”

“They can sell their products in CA, but why be headquartered in CA where they tax you so much. Texas has 0% income tax. It’s unfortunate but completely true!” one person wrote.

“We knew this was coming when they announced their move to Texas a while ago. It was a matter of time before the layoffs happened,” another person wrote.

“Companies can lower their cost of doing business in states with lower taxes, lower wages & less regulatory burdens,” a third wrote.

The family-owned company started out in Tulare in 1964, by son Fred Ruiz and his father Louis, according to its website. 

“And, so, Ruiz Foods began in a small warehouse in Tulare, California, with two employees, a few appliances, and Grandma Rosie’s recipes for enchiladas, burritos, and tamales,” it added.

In 1990, the company built a massive manufacturing facility and distribution warehouse in Dinuba, where the headquarters were relocated.

Years later it would expand to Texas and South Carolina, opening manufacturing facilities there.

During a UC Merced commencement speech in 2021, Fred Ruiz said the company’s estimated annual sales would be over $1 billion, employing some 4,000 team members across the country at the time.

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