California’s Refinery Closures Expose the Myth of a “Just Transition”

The media has started to highlight the human cost of California’s energy transition. With two major refineries closing soon, the Associated Press and other news outlets report on the increasing uncertainty for thousands of oil workers and their families. These two facilities make up about 18 percent of California’s refining capacity, and their shutdowns could lead to widespread job losses, especially for workers who have spent decades in the industry.

The AP piece highlights stories like that of Wilfredo Cruz, a third-generation refinery worker facing unemployment despite earning a six-figure wage that provided stability for his family. His father, who lost his job decades earlier when another refinery closed, now watches history repeat itself.

After more than a decade, Wilfredo Cruz makes a base salary of $118,000 a year as a pipe fitter at the Phillips 66 refinery.

California’s Employment Development Department notes that with refineries shuttering, with as many as 58,000 more oil and gas jobs expected to disappear by 2030.

Daniel Villaseñor, spokesman for the Governor of California, said, “The governor is committed to supporting displaced oil workers and affected communities in transitioning into new and emerging jobs and economic opportunities.”

But, as Hector Barajas wrote in California Globe, such promises ring hollow. In his article  “California’s False Promise of a ‘Just Transition’” (August 18, 2025), Barajas argues that there is no real transition, only political talk masking economic abandonment. Workers earning $120,000 a year are told to accept retraining for jobs that pay half as much, while California imports more oil from the Amazon rainforest than it produces under its own strict labor and environmental standards.the IEPR table, they will be on the menu.