Ruiz Foods, maker of frozen and ready-to-eat-Mexican food products and brands including El Monterey, has laid off more than 100 employees at its Dinuba manufacturing facility plant in California.
In total, the family-owned frozen Mexican food manufacturing company that began in the family’s kitchen 1964, has laid off 176 employees in Tulare County, according to the company’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter.
“This difficult decision impacts valued members of our team and is necessary to better align production capacity with anticipated customer demand,” Ruiz Foods President and CEO Kimberli Carroll said in a statement to The Fresno Bee.
The Dinuba plant employs about 1,400 people. Layoffs will be effective Nov. 4. The affected employees were notified on Sept. 2, according to a Ruiz Foods spokesperson.
The company said employees whose positions are impacted have received WARN notices at least 60 days prior to the effective date of the workforce reduction, in accordance with California requirements.
In the WARN letter addressed to the Employment Development Department, Senior Vice President of Administration Tony Caetano wrote that of the 176 employees affected, six were laid off between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9.
Caetano wrote that those six employees did not receive the 60-day notice “due to the sensitivity of their roles“ but were provided with the required pay and benefits.
“We will continue to operate at our manufacturing facility located in Dinuba, California, County of Tulare,” Caetano wrote.
According to the company, the Dinuba facility, at 501 S. Alta Ave., will transition to a five-day production schedule on Nov. 4 “to better match production needs, align with operating schedules at other Ruiz Foods manufacturing facilities, and provide Dinuba employees with weekends off.“
While there are production changes and a reduction in the workforce, the company said the Dinuba plant remains a critical part of Ruiz Foods’ manufacturing network and “has planned capital investments to support its long-term role in our operations.“
Besides the Dinuba facility, the company has manufacturing plants in Vernon, Denison, Texas, and Florence, South Carolina. The company moved its corporate headquarters from Dinuba to Frisco, Texas, in 2024. It also closed its manufacturing facility in the city of Tulare the same year. The company employs more than 4,000 people.
Eligible employees will receive separation packages that include severance pay based on years of service, COBRA continuation coverage and information regarding unemployment benefits.
The company said that affected employees can apply for open positions at other Ruiz Foods manufacturing facilities and that it is offering an early retirement incentive plan with “enhanced separation benefits“ to eligible Dinuba employees who choose to retire.
This story was originally published September 9, 2026 at 3:13 PM.