LOS ANGELES – Multiple Pizza Hut franchises across California are laying off their in-house delivery drivers as a new law taking effect in 2024 raises the minimum wage to $20 per hour, Business Insider reports. 

PacPizza LLC, operating as Pizza Hut, said in a federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act notice filed with California’s Employment Development Department that the company has made a decision to eliminate first-party delivery services and, as a result, the elimination of all delivery driver positions. Similarly, Southern California Pizza Co. has also announced layoffs, impacting about 841 drivers across the state. 

SUGGESTED: New California laws 2024: Minimum wage up to $20 for fast-food workers

The decision affects Pizza Hut locations in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Ventura counties. 

The current minimum wage in California is $16 per hour and will increase to $20 in April. The move comes after the passing of AB 1228, which was proposed in the wake of the rising cost of living and most fast-food workers living at or below the federal poverty line. The bill stated the high cost of living prompted “the urgent and immediate need to provide fast food workers a living wage.”

SUGGESTED: These new California laws take effect January 2024

Moving forward, the California Pizza Hut franchises will rely on third-party delivery apps like Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash for deliveries.

Pizza Hut, part of publicly traded company Yum! Brands, Inc., which owns brands like KFC and Taco Bell, acknowledged the recent changes in delivery services at some franchise restaurants, saying that its franchisees independently own and operate their establishments, and adhere to local market dynamics while complying with federal, state and local regulations.