Wine Closure Maker Lays Off 66 from Modesto Plant

"When all the world is scratching for gold," Leland Stanford (or was it Mark Twain) is reported to have said, "sell picks and shovels."

But when business shrinks, even the seller of picks and shovels feels the pain. And so it is for 66 employees of G-3 Enterprises who make wine closures at a plant in Modesto, Calif. The wine business is contracting, and businesses supporting the wine business will contract, too.

G-3 was founded by third generation members of the Gallo family, which has its main winery near the beverage closure plant. G-3 also does labels and bottling for beverage producers, as well as warehousing and hauling across several industries.