Chipotle To Begin Closing Denver And New York Offices Oct. 5

Chipotle Mexican Grill, which is moving its HQ to Newport Beach, California, has informed the states of Colorado and New York that the company plans to begin closing its corporate headquarters in those states in October, according to state labor filings.

Chipotle

About 399 employees in Denver and 32 employees in New York could be affected by the closures. Layoffs would begin on Oct. 5 and are expected to be completed by March 1, Chipotle said in both filings.

It is unclear how many total employees will be laid off. Some of the employees in both Denver and New York are being offered relocation packages to Newport Beach, according to Nation's Restaurant News.

Chipotle filed the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, more commonly known as the WARN Act, notice June 29.

In an effort to protect employees and their families, the WARN Act requires employers to provide employees facing employment loss with a 60-day notice prior to a layoff.

The filings come a month after the fast-casual restaurant chain announced the company would relocate its main corporate office in Denver, where it has been for 25 years, to Newport Beach — the home of its newly hired CEO Brian Niccols, who had previously served as CEO of Yum Brands' Taco Bell division in Irvine.

Niccols cited competition and being able to lure talented midlevel and high-level executives in the industry from Southern California as one of the reasons for the move.

Orange County and Southern California is the headquarters for several of Chipotle’s rivals, such as Taco Bell, Del Taco, Wahoo’s Fish Taco and Rubio’s.

The company is still reviewing new sites for the headquarters in Newport Beach, Chipotle officials told Restaurant News.

Additionally, Niccols said in a recent conference call that the company plans to close 65 of its retail stores as part of a repositioning strategy to modernize the operations and focus on digital sales.

The company's repositioning and relocation plans are expected to cost the company up to $135M, according to several news sites.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Orange County Newsletters
Related Stories

Federal Government To Sell Nearly 31K SF In Five Points: The Denver Deal Sheet

Philly Retail Momentum Spills From Rittenhouse Into Northern Liberties

How Long Island Projects Can Cut Through Red Tape And Community Opposition To Cross The Finish Line

More Hotel Owners In Need Of Cash Are Getting It From The Big Brands

Forget Buildings, Retailers Are Leasing Environments

Empire State Building Observation Deck Hemorrhaging Visitors, Value

Oil Company Expands Again At Cash Register Building

Slate, Hudson Cos. Picked To Develop Massive Queens Housing Project

BXP's 343 Madison Lands $1.2B Loan, Nears Deal With Equity Partner

Immigration Crackdowns Dealt LA Businesses A Multimillion‑Dollar Blow

Mamdani Adds Millions To Program Helping Retailers Negotiate With Landlords

Canadian REIT Buys Brooklyn Medical Office For $90M: The N.Y. Deal Sheet