“There are no layoffs and employees will return in the new year”: Fender says WARN notice ahead of Corona factory closure is part of “normal operating procedure”
Fender has clarified its position following the news that a WARN notice had been issued to 533 employees notifying them of the temporary closure of its Corona, California factory during “holiday inventory quiet weeks” at the end of the year.
In the US, a WARN notice (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) informs employees in advance of a large-scale plant closure or mass layoffs. An employer must issue one if more than 500 workers are affected at a single site.
Following speculative chatter across guitar industry forums in the past week – alongside a relatively turbulent time for the company amid its widely criticised Stratocaster cease and desist campaign – Fender has contacted Guitar.com to clarify the specifics of the WARN notice, and how employees at the Corona factory will be affected.
READ MORE: Housed within Fender’s newly revamped American Professional line is a bridge previously only available on top-line Custom Shop models: “It was like, ‘How can you make it in quantity?’”
The company says the notice relates to the temporary closure of its Corona factory between 14 and 31 December, 2026. However, a WARN notice in this context is unusual, as US employers generally do not issue WARNs for temporary layoff periods of less than six months.
In a statement given to Guitar.com, Fender reassures those concerned that there are “no layoffs associated with these quiet weeks”, and that affected employees will “return in the new year”.
As Fender explains, end-of-year shutdowns are part of its “normal annual operations and are not a new practice”. That said, this marks the first time Fender has issued a WARN notice alongside a factory shutdown.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen internal processes and improve transparency, we have taken an evolved and more proactive approach to formal notifications this year,” the firm writes. “There has been no fundamental change in our annual operation practices.”
It adds that “employees may have the option to work” during this shutdown period between 14 – 31 December, and that the WARN notice is “simply intended to provide employees with advance visibility so they can plan accordingly”.
It’s been a tumultuous year for Fender, which has faced heavy backlash from the guitar community after serving cease and desist orders to a number of brands making guitars similar to the Stratocaster. Boutique builders like California-based LsL Instruments have been hit, as well as some of the industry’s biggest players including PRS, Yamaha, and Thomann.
Recently, CEO Edward “Bud” Cole sought to clarify the brand’s position, saying that while it had no plans to halt its legal actions against other companies over the Stratocaster, it was pursuing “respectful discussions” over lawsuits.
2026 hasn’t been totally stormy for Fender, however, with significant product launches coming in the way of a revamped American Professional line, a potentially game-changing new pickup silencing system, the first signature Tone Master amp with blues ace and new digital modelling convert Joe Bonamassa, and a slew of mouth-watering signature instruments for Mark Hoppus, Johnny Marr and Lee Sklar.
Also recently, the company relaunched its website, now featuring an AI chatbot that helps you find your perfect guitar, as well as integrated sound demos to hear gear before you buy.
The post “There are no layoffs and employees will return in the new year”: Fender says WARN notice ahead of Corona factory closure is part of “normal operating procedure” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
