Hundreds of Calif. Pizza Hut restaurants to lay off delivery drivers

Pizza Hut operators will lay off more than 1,200 delivery drivers at hundreds of franchises across California in February, the company confirmed. 

San Ramon-based PacPizza and Southern California Pizza Co., which operate Pizza Hut restaurants throughout the state, announced in WARN Act notices filed with California’s Employment Development Department that they will be doing away with in-house delivery services at hundreds of locations, Business Insider first reported.

More than 1,200 in-house delivery driver positions will reportedly be eliminated as a result, including 841 positions in Southern California alone. 

“Pizza Hut is aware of the recent changes to delivery services at certain franchise restaurants in California,” a company spokesperson told SFGATE. “Our franchisees independently own and operate their restaurants in accordance with local market dynamics and comply with all federal, state, and local regulations, while continuing to provide quality service and food to our customers via carryout and delivery.”

The decision comes in anticipation of California Assembly Bill 1228, which will require fast food restaurants to pay workers a minimum wage of at least $20 per hour starting in April. The bill will impact over 500,000 fast food workers across the state, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. 

Affected Pizza Hut stores will need to outsource their delivery services to food delivery apps like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats, Business Insider reported. 

“The money they are giving us as severance pay is a slap on the face,” a longtime Pizza Hut driver told Business Insider on condition of anonymity, referring to the $400 the driver was offered in severance pay. “It comes to $3 a month for nine-plus years of service.”

It’s unclear whether other Pizza Hut operators in California will conduct similar rounds of layoffs.