A city official in Fairfield said the community is preparing for the ripple effects of the announced Anheuser‑Busch (Budweiser) plant closure, which is scheduled to occur in mid to late February. "My heart goes out for them," the official said, noting the timing will be difficult for many employees.

David Hubbell, president and executive director of the workforce development board, told the council rapid‑response plans are already under way. He said staff handed out an impact scenario to council members and identified 238 production employees named in a notice; when suppliers and related businesses are included, the board estimates about 544 workers will be directly affected.

The workforce board also warned the plant closure comes amid other local reductions and said the county could see about 3,000 dislocated workers in the spring and early summer, with many of those residents living in Fairfield. "It's not happening in a bubble," Hubbell said, noting parallel staff reductions at a Vallejo refinery and in the Vallejo City School District.

Hubbell said the board has requested state assistance grants and expects "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in supportive services and training as part of rapid‑response operations. He said workforce staff have committed to be on site in January to meet affected employees and that a reverse career fair is scheduled for Jan. 29 at the Budweiser plant, where employers will be invited to recruit directly from the affected workforce.

April, a workforce development staff member, summarized specific next steps: the board will coordinate with the Employment Development Department (EDD) and unemployment services on scheduled outreach (listed in the meeting as the 8th and 9th, with the meeting record not specifying the month), provide counseling about severance and unemployment timing to avoid benefits interruptions, work with labor unions on placement and training, and target employer outreach toward common production roles such as maintenance and laboratory technicians. "Main focus of that is really keeping talent local, getting people reemployed fast," April said.

Council members and staff emphasized the combination of on‑site assistance, retraining and the Jan. 29 reverse career fair as the first batch of measures to limit long‑term unemployment. No formal vote or council action was recorded during this discussion; the workforce board said it will continue coordinating with the city and state agencies and return with further details as plans firm up.