{"id":520341,"date":"2026-03-13T02:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T02:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/520341\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T02:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T02:55:07","slug":"new-executive-layoffs-pushed-back-as-something-clearly-shifted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/520341\/","title":{"rendered":"New Executive, Layoffs Pushed Back As Something Clearly Shifted"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kauai Coffee layoffs have just been pushed back to May. The parent company also just named a new president. And both sides suddenly sound different. Two things happened this week around Kauai Coffee<\/a>, and the timing is significant.<\/p>\n

The company extended layoff notices again, now pushing potential job losses to a new time frame between April 18 and May 2. At the same time, Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA announced a new president, Matthew Smith, who now oversees all U.S. operations, including Kauai Coffee.<\/p>\n

Neither development alone would signal as much. Taken together, the noticeably softer tone coming from both sides of the lease dispute suggests that something has shifted.<\/p>\n

The new dates.<\/p>\n

The original WARN filing earlier this year warned that layoffs could begin March 14 and run through March 28, the day the Kauai Coffee farm\u2019s land lease expires. That timeline was pushed once already, and the new extension moves potential layoffs again.<\/p>\n

General manager Brian Kubicki has said WARN extensions will continue monthly as negotiations move forward. The company maintains that it has no plans to shut down operations.<\/p>\n

The tone shift.<\/p>\n

Both sides sound different from how they did even just a week ago. Kubicki has publicly expressed optimism that discussions could lead to a deal that allows coffee farming to continue on the land.<\/p>\n

BBCP vice president James Priestley has also said the two companies are \u201cdedicated to finalizing a new lease.\u201d That language is a long way from the WARN filing that said Kauai Coffee was \u201cbeing forced out of business\u201d and the landowner\u2019s launch of kauaicoffeefacts.com to present its own different version of events.<\/p>\n

The change in tone does not mean a deal has been reached, or necessarily will be. But it is noticeably different from where things stood very recently in the dispute.<\/p>\n

The new executive.<\/p>\n

At the same time negotiations continue, Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA announced that Matthew Smith has been promoted to president of the company\u2019s U.S. operations. Smith previously served as the company\u2019s senior vice president of sales and marketing and will now work alongside CEO Scott Meader on long-term strategy and growth.<\/p>\n

The company operates several national coffee brands in addition to Kauai Coffee, including Chock full o\u2019Nuts, Hills Bros., MJB, Chase & Sanborn, and Segafredo Zanetti. Whether Smith\u2019s promotion affects the negotiations over Kauai Coffee or simply reflects broader corporate planning is not clear, but the timing places new leadership over the company\u2019s U.S. operations while the lease dispute continues.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s still unresolved.<\/p>\n

No lease agreement has been announced, and the underlying issues between the companies remain completely undisclosed. Massimo Zanetti has acknowledged that unresolved points remain, but has not specified what they are.<\/p>\n

Workers\u2019 jobs remain in limbo while negotiations continue. The softer language could signal progress, or it could simply reflect both sides stepping back from the very public fight.<\/p>\n

What hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n

The visitor center remains open, and the farm is still operating, including tours. Workers continue showing up while negotiations play out behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

For full background on the dispute and what employees are experiencing on the ground, see our recent coverage: Kauai Coffee Looks Normal.<\/a> <\/a>The Workers Know It Isn\u2019t.<\/a> and Who\u2019s Destroying Kauai Coffee? Now No One Can Agree<\/a>.<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The tone has clearly changed this week. Whether that change leads to an actual agreement is something no one outside the negotiations can yet answer. <\/p>\n

After months of deadlines and delays, do you think Kauai Coffee is actually closer to staying?<\/p>\n

Lead Photo Credit: \u00a9 Beat of Hawaii at Kauai Coffee Visitor Center with its famous rooster.<\/p>\n

Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kauai Coffee layoffs have just been pushed back to May. The parent company also just named a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-520341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}