Fossil Fuel Layoff: The Economic and Employment Effects of a Refinery Closure on Workers in Northern California’s Bay Area

Keywords: climate change, labor, energy transition, unions, workers
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Climate action policies center on transitioning the economy away from fossil fuels to renewable forms of energy. Although necessary to achieve sustainability goals, this transition poses significant economic hardship for fossil fuel workers and bears a striking resemblance to past energy transitions that adversely impacted workers, such as the coal mine closures in Britain well documented by economic geographers. Despite certainty that a shift away from a carbon-based economy is underway, we know little about how this shift will impact today’s workers in the fossil fuel sector. Our study provides valuable empirical insight into transition impacts drawn from workers’ actual experiences of job loss and transition.

In late 2020, a large oil refinery in Northern California was permanently shut down and its 345 unionized workers laid off. We surveyed and interviewed these 345 refinery workers to document their post-layoff employment experiences (n=140). Our study focuses on the labor market experiences of these laid-off workers, including workers’ post-layoff employment status, job search, wages, and financial security. Our findings offer a rare look at how workers navigate the constraints and opportunities of the labor market during a period of transition by capturing both the behavior of workers and employers.

The experience of these workers sheds light on the employment and economic impacts of climate change policies on fossil fuel workers in the region and more broadly, pointing to probable future transition experiences. Our findings underscore the equity imperative of designing policies and programs that effectively support workers through periods of economic transition.