Gerawan Farms stonefruit is marketed under the Prima brand.

As part of an ongoing bankruptcy case for local stone fruit giant Prima Wawona, the company acquired by a New York investment firm in 2019 has warned more than 5,400 positions may be subject to layoff by March 12.

The Fresno-based farming company filed for bankruptcy protection on Oct. 13, and has been attempting to restructure its debt or liquidate assets.

“At this time we do not know the extent to which our workforce may eventually be affected by these actions,” said Prima Wawona CEO John Boken in a letter to the California Employment Development Department, which administers the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The program requires some employers to notify workers and local officials ahead of layoffs.

Prima Wawona has farms, ranches, packing plants and office locations in Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties, and its season for growing stone fruit such as peaches, nectarines and plums typically starts in early March. Of the total layoff notices, 3,743 positions represent seasonal employees who will not be called to work this year.

The San Joaquin Valley Sun reported that Prima Wawona has nearly 13,500 acres of land to liquidate, according to a presentation put together by Pearson Realty on behalf of lender Wawona Farm Co. LLC. A total price of $370 million has been set for the land in southeastern and west Fresno County, the Sun reported.

Prima Wawona was born from a merger nearly four years ago by Gerawan Farming and Wawona Packing. Wawona Packing — which is not affiliated with Wawona Frozen Foods — is owned by private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners.

Grower Dan Gerawan led the merger of his company with Wawona Packing, staying on as CEO until he was ousted by Paine Schwartz in 2020. Gerawan in July 2023  filed a lawsuit against Paine Schwartz, alleging it intentionally sunk his former company for financial gain.

The loss was staggering. The collective holdings of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System in Prima Wawona shed 96% of their value in five years. The lawsuit alleges pain Schwartz drained more than $24 million from the company in less than four years.

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The San Joaquin Valley-based, family-owned and operated Wawona Frozen Foods is not affiliated in any way with the fresh fruit company, Prima Wawona. Wawona Frozen Foods is a third-generation company which just celebrated its 60th year in business and is among the largest frozen fruit companies in the nation.