Fender Musical Instruments Corporation California Layoffs 2026: What Employees Should Know

What the filing says

These are the details as Fender Musical Instruments Corporationreported them to the state. The EDD publishes every notice, and these figures come from the state's report as retrieved on Aug 13, 2026.

How much notice the law requires

California's WARN Act requires 60 days of advance written notice before a covered mass layoff, and its only statutory exception is a physical calamity or an act of war — far narrower than federal law's three. Who is covered and how the thresholds are counted is in our California WARN Act guide.

Fender Musical Instruments severance: what to check before you sign

A severance offer is not the notice pay the WARN Act describes. Severance you were already promised — in a contract, a handbook, or a union agreement — cannot be used to satisfy that obligation, though Labor Code section 1402 does let an employer reduce a back-pay award by voluntary payments it was never required to make. A release may also give up more than you expect. Justin reviews severance agreements before workers sign. What to check before you decide is in our full guide to the California WARN Act.

Two things worth doing this week either way. File for unemployment now — WARN money does not reduce it, and the filings here run through Apr 7, 2026, so you do not have to wait for your last day. And keep every document, including the notice itself and anything showing when it arrived.

What your notice was required to include

Timing is only half of what Labor Code section 1401 asks for. The notice itself has to contain specific things, and California added most of this list for notices issued on or after January 1, 2026. This notice falls after that date. If you kept your copy, read it against the full six-item checklist in our WARN Act guide — everything federal law requires, whether transition help is being coordinated, working contact details for your workforce board and for the employer itself, and CalFresh information.

Source: Labor Code section 1401, as amended by SB 617, effective January 1, 2026. A notice missing something from that list is not automatically a violation with a remedy attached — whether a gap matters depends on the employer, the action, and what else happened.

Questions people are asking

Where a layoff can raise a legal question

A layoff is lawful on its own, and nothing below is a statement about Fender Musical Instruments. These are the places California law can still come into play, depending on the facts of your own situation.

• The severance you were asked to signA release can give up claims you did not know you had, and the terms are sometimes negotiable.
• How you were selectedA reduction in force still cannot be used to cut someone for a protected reason such as age, disability, pregnancy, or a complaint they made.
• Your final paycheckCalifornia sets when final wages are due at termination, and unpaid time or accrued vacation can carry penalties on top of the wages.

General information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

What the numbers show

• The 60 affected positions are in Corona.
• The shortest gap between notice and last day here is 60 days, close to the statewide median of 61 days across every notice on file.
• The 60 workers leaving Fender Musical Instruments Corporation re-enter a job market where Riverside County unemployment stood at 5.4% in June 2026, above the 5.2% statewide rate (Bureau of Labor Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

These are counts and comparisons drawn from the published filings, not findings about Fender Musical Instruments.

Free job-search help near Corona

America's Job Center of California is the state's no-cost network for laid-off workers: help filing and keeping unemployment benefits, federally funded retraining, and résumé and interview coaching. Your WARN notice may name one; this is the closest to the site in this filing.

• Rubidoux Youth Opportunity Center (opens in a new tab)

  5656 Mission Blvd, Riverside, CA 92509 · 951-683-9622

  Affiliate center (partial services) · about 13.4 miles from the Corona site

Locations and hours change — confirm before visiting, or find another center with the EDD's center locator (opens in a new tab). Directory: U.S. Department of Labor, Jul 31, 2026; distances are straight-line from the address in the filing.

Other layoffs filed in Riverside County around the same time

41 employers have WARN notices on file in Riverside County, covering 4,625 workers. These filed within about a quarter of this one.

• Swift Beef Company374 workers
• Riviera Resort & Spa Palm Springs233 workers
• Saks & Company LLC231 workers
• Nestle USA145 workers
• Legacy Supply Chain129 workers
• RSVC Company127 workers

Listed because they appear in the same county in the same public data. No connection between these employers is implied.

California wage claims filed against Fender Musical Instruments

California employers face claims under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which lets an employee sue for civil penalties over Labor Code violations on behalf of the state. The state publishes every filing. 2 PAGA cases naming this employer are on that record, including the settlements below.

These are outcomes in other people’s cases, obtained by other lawyers, taken from the state’s public filing record. They are not results of this firm, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. What any individual recovers depends on their own hours, pay records, and dates.

• Proposed settlement · 2018

  $850,000

  Current and former non-exempt workers in California reached a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit against Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The workers alleged they were not paid all wages including overtime, were denied meal and rest breaks, and received inaccurate wage statements. The settlement, which requires court approval, would provide payments to class members in exchange for releasing their claims. The company denies all wrongdoing and liability.

  Covered all natural persons who, at any point from May 27, 2011 through November 30, 2017(“Class Period”), were or/are employed by FMIC as Non-Exempt Workers in California. The settlement resolved class claims as well as PAGA penalties.

  Employees covered

  1,022

  To the state (LWDA)

  $18,750

  Superior Court of the State of California, County of Riverside · Fender Musical Instruments denied liability; a settlement is not an admission.

• Proposed settlement · 2025

  $500,000

  Non-exempt hourly employees of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in California allege they were not paid for all hours worked, including overtime, and were denied compliant meal and rest breaks. The employer settled the PAGA claims for a total of $500,000, with 75% of the net amount going to the LWDA and 25% distributed to employees based on pay periods worked, but denies all allegations and liability.

  Covered all current and former employees who were employed by and worked for Defendant as a non-exempt, hourly employee in California during the PAGA Period. The settlement resolved PAGA civil penalties only.

  Attorneys' fees

  $166,650

  Superior Court of California, County of Riverside · CVRI2000778 · Fender Musical Instruments denied liability; a settlement is not an admission.

A PAGA case is not a class action, and there is nothing to opt out of. A PAGA settlement resolves civil penalties owed to the state — most of which the state keeps — and it does not necessarily resolve your own unpaid wages, missed break premiums, or final-paycheck penalties. If you worked here and were not paid correctly, that is a separate question worth asking about. How California wage claims work.