(Image Credit: IMAGN) Almond grower Rick Veldstra looks at blossoms on a tree in an orchard on Carrolton Road and Dodds Road near Escalon on Mar. 1, 2010.
Sacramento, California – After more than 100 years of operation, Blue Diamond Growers will shutter its landmark almond processing facility in Sacramento, signaling the end of an era for California’s capital city and the broader agricultural legacy it once helped define.
The cooperative, which represents nearly 3,000 almond growers across California, announced plans to wind down operations at its sprawling plant near 16th and C streets over the next two years. The closure will affect approximately 600 employees and marks the latest in a series of major food industry exits from Sacramento, following Campbell Soup’s plant shutdown in 2013.
Blue Diamond cited the financial and logistical strain of operating a modern processing facility inside aging infrastructure. “The challenges of running a plant from these historical buildings has become too costly and inefficient,” CEO Kai Bockmann said in a statement. While the company praised the dedication and resilience of its Sacramento workforce, it also made clear that operational priorities now lie in the Central Valley, where newer facilities in Turlock and Salida will absorb much of the production.
The announcement underscores a broader trend in the region’s economic transformation. Once a hub for agricultural processing and canning, Sacramento is gradually shedding its industrial past in favor of tech, housing, and service-oriented redevelopment. The fate of Blue Diamond’s 50-acre site—part of which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places—remains uncertain, though local economic leaders speculate it could attract interest from AI firms or residential developers.
Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, noted the potential for reimagining the site. Sacramento’s landscape has already seen other industrial conversions: The Cannery, once a fruit processing facility, now houses fitness centers and boutique offices; Globe Mills, a 1914-era Pillsbury mill, has been reborn as a modern apartment complex.
Despite the company’s intent to remain headquartered in Sacramento, the departure of the processing plant is a symbolic loss. For generations, Blue Diamond’s presence helped define the city’s identity as the almond capital of the world. The closure severs that visible tie—one still rooted in local memory and daily life.
Employees will begin exiting the plant starting in late 2025, with the first wave affecting about 10% of the workforce. The company says it will offer severance, job placement services, and opportunities at other locations, though the human cost remains palpable. As one worker put it: “It’s a little bit shocking for everybody… very hard right now, ya know, finding another job.”
