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Workforce board warns of hundreds displaced by recent closures, outlines rapid-response and training plans

Solano County Board of Supervisors · February 4, 2026

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Summary

Solano County's Workforce Development Board told supervisors recent employer closures have affected more than 600 workers and could impact up to 2,000 by year-end; the board described rapid-response sessions, career fairs, WIOA funding shifts, and pending state assistance grant requests totaling roughly $3.4 million for dislocated-worker training and small-business support.

The Solano County Workforce Development Board reported Feb. 3 that recent employer closures — including Budweiser, Mare Island Dry Dock and announced Valero reductions — have directly affected more than 600 employees and that second- and third-order effects could put as many as 2,000 local jobs at risk by the end of the year.

Dave Hubbell of the Workforce Development Board summarized the board’s current and planned responses: rapid-response sessions on-site at affected employers to explain unemployment insurance and reemployment services; targeted career fairs (including an April NorCal Career Fair at Solano Community College); partnerships with Solano Community College and other education providers for no-cost training; and an expansion of the state’s eligible training-provider list to include advanced manufacturing and maritime programs.

To address immediate needs the board reallocated roughly $189,000 from WIOA adult training funds to dislocated-worker funds and has submitted an additional assistance request to the state for $3 million (with a $1.4 million request specifically for training and $500,000 for small-business layoff-aversion support). A separate $400,000 assistance request targets Budweiser and Mare Island impacts. Hubell said funding from Contra Costa’s workforce board (about $200,000) is expected as a subrecipient arrangement.

Board members praised the rapid-response work and discussed coordinating county services and outreach to ensure residents understand safety-net options. Supervisors asked about nurse and CNA pipelines and recommended emphasizing health-care training as part of the workforce strategy. The board said that many training programs require time to stand up (two years for K–14 career-technical education programs) and that grant performance metrics will condition incremental state disbursements.

Workforce staff said they plan a March 24 K–14 career-technical education convening and district-level roundtables to align education and industry needs. They urged supervisors to consider support letters for advocacy at the state level to protect county allocations and to help modify state metrics that can disadvantage counties with fewer cash resources.