Red Bull distributor to close, lay off 44 on Long Island

A local distributor of Red Bull energy drink is closing operations, laying off 44 employees on Long Island, according to state filings.

The Beverage Works, a New Jersey drink distributor with facilities in Farmingdale, Peekskill and Brooklyn, said it would be laying off 166 workers across its operations — including 44 on Long Island — due to the termination of a contract.

Beverage Works, founded in 2000, exclusively distributes Red Bull products in the greater New York and New Jersey areas, according to the firm’s website.

Officials with the company did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment.

The closure of the business is expected to conclude Monday, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed by Beverage Works earlier this week.

Impacted workers are members of IBOTU Local 713. Union representatives did not respond to requests seeking comment about the layoffs.

Separately, food services provider Sodexo announced its contract with a local retirement community would be coming to an end this fall, resulting in the potential layoff of 66 workers.

Sodexo, which provides food vendor services to the now bankrupt Harborside retirement community in Port Washington, formerly called the Amsterdam at Harborside, said its contract with the community was not being renewed and it would cease operations there Sept. 15.

“Sodexo has been a partner of Amsterdam Harborside and unfortunately, they are being acquired by another company and as such our food service contract is ending,” a Sodexo spokesperson said in a statement.

Officials with Sodexo said, however, that the new operator planned to hire the existing staff, a common practice in cafeteria service contracts.

“The incumbent is planning on hiring the employees affected by this transition,” the company said. “We wish the residents and staff all the best and we certainly welcome the opportunity to serve this organization in the future.”

Harborside, transitioning to new ownership, has filed for bankruptcy three times in the last 10 years. Iowa-based Life Care Services Communities, the third-largest manager of retirement communities nationally, won a bankruptcy court auction for the Harborside, promising to pay $64.5 million.

The judge’s decision in that auction has been appealed by the representative of the debt holders of the community, who are owed millions of dollars.

LCS has said it will continue with its plans to purchase and renovate Harborside, located at 300 East Overlook, and is seeking tax breaks from Nassau County on the project.

WARN, the state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires that companies with at least 50 full-time employees file a notice of a mass layoff or a closing 90 days in advance.