The idea of “America First” was always pretty simple – prioritize American jobs (and especially manufacturing jobs) first.
Ensure American industries are strong, profitable, and competitive.
And make sure no other countries are taking advantage of American businesses.
It’s a great, simple, straightforward idea in theory.
In practice, however…
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Things have taken quite a turn.
Because while American manufacturing has been on the downswing for a long time, there were some early signs of recovery in 2023 and 2024…
Unfortunately, 2025 has seen what I’d politely call a “total collapse” across manufacturing.
A whopping 11,000 factory workers lost their job last month alone (on top of 7,000 in June).
And here’s why:
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The simple answer is: Mostly Tariffs. (Although, of course, every closure is unique and different.)
But just saying “tariffs” and moving on is misleading, and here’s why:
It’s not about the tariffs themselves.
Sure, adding 15% (or 25%, or 50%) to various imput costs is certainly harming factories. No doubt about it.
But in my view, the bigger culprit is uncertainty.
The US tariff policy has been, uh, let’s call it “inconsistent” and “confusing.”
And if you’re a business that needs to make plans and investments over a multiyear timeframe…that makes it essentially impossible to plan.
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So businesses are just…sitting pat.
Waiting. Hoping things will get better. Or at least more predictable!
And in the meantime, they’re trimming every expense possible to try and build in a safety buffer that both enables them to better absorb tariff costs…and have more maneuvering room in case the inconsistency is just a fact of life.
Those expenses?
They’re factories. Businesses all across America are closing factories and laying off workers.
It’s the opposite of what “America First” was supposed to achieve.
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“Made in America” is falling apart.
And the “America First” argument has collapsed.
And unfortunately, the losses are rapidly expanding – with seven factories closing in a matter of days.
These are their stories:
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Blue Diamond – you know, the almond people – announced on June 7th that it’s closing down a huge plant in Sacramento, California – with incoming layoffs likely impacting several hundred workers.
While Blue Diamond gave a pretty anodyne statement about reducing costs, it’s not unreasonable to think that tariffs could have played a big part.
After all, American almonds were specifically targeted for retaliatory tariffs by both China and the EU. (Those tariffs are on pause for the moment, but again – how do you plan production for years in the future when things are flip-flopping seemingly every week?)
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A couple things that are important to note:
– Blue Diamond didn’t just announce the closure and shut down the factory overnight. This will happen in phases over the next couple of years, so workers fortunately will have some time to find other jobs.
– Blue Diamond is a California company and is shifting some of the jobs to other plants in the state. Of course, there are commuting considerations, but at least some of the workers will have a chance to retain their employment and seniority.
– This factory was old – over 50 years old, in fact. That means it was probably designed without consideration of newer technology and efficiency practices. You’ll see this theme stretching over a variety of factories that are closing – frequently one of the big considerations is the need to move to more modern builds.
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Leprino closed its dairy plant in Remus, Michigan on May 2nd – with layoffs for every worker.
It’s just one small plant – and one that had downsized a couple of years ago – but it happens against a scary backdrop of difficulties impacting the broader dairy industry.
More specifically, ICE raids have been causing massive disruptions.
So, add more shortages to the list, I guess.
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Yep, layoffs aren’t just happening in California and Michigan – even powerhouses like Texas are being impacted.
Country Pure Foods (which makes single-serve fruit juices and water cups, plus almond milk under brand names including Ardmore Farms, Glacier Valley, and SideKicks) closed its Houston-based plant in May, with permanent layoffs eliminating every job that had been housed there.
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Frito-Lay (a division of PepsiCo) closed down its big chip factory in Rancho Cucamonga in June as well, wiping out several hundred good-paying jobs in one fell swoop.
This factory had been open for over 50 years. It was a pillar of the community.
(And also – as discussed previously – the age of the facility cuts both ways.)
Frito-Lay has been facing declining demand for its chips (part of that is the ongoing tariff stuff, part of it is just shifts in Americans’ consumption habits), so this closure, unfortunately, makes a lot of sense.
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Coca-Cola shut down a 350,000 square-foot production facility in Napa Valley, California at the end of June.
This wasn’t an unexpected closure – Coke has been shedding plants for the last couple of years as it tries to reinvent itself as a much leaner company by outsourcing lots of its operations to third-party vendors – but it’s still heartbreaking for every worker who lost their job.
And of course – remember that one of the big tariffs in place is on aluminum, which is the key component in soda cans.
Food for thought.
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I think people often forget that there’s a whole state of New York outside New York City, full of tons of small towns that don’t remind you of NYC at all.
Liberty, New York is one of those towns. With a population of ~5,000, the recent loss of the PopCorners factory (which employed nearly 300 people and wound down operations in late May and early June) was a huge loss.
My thoughts and prayers are with the community as they try to recover from this blow.
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If you’ve never heard of Conagra, no worries – they own a bunch of recognzied brands like Marie Callender’s, Reddi-wip, Vlasic, and Orville Reddenbacher’s (among many, many others).
Their plant in Fennville, Michigan, which had been operating for almost 100 years, permanently closed in late June.
It had been making pie fillings (I assume for Marie Callender’s pies), but I assume that declining demand removed the need for some of the production capacity.
Another pillar of the community, gone forever.
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As you can see, these factories span a number of different food categories – soda, dairy, fruit juice, almonds, pies – so there’s no commonality of a single sector that’s being impacted here. These issues are broad-based and impacting a lot of different businesses.
Of course, many of these facilities were…on the older side. And perhaps they’d been overdue for replacement.
But the fact is that they all closed very recently, and over a short time period.
And when it comes down to it, that really highlights the struggles the “America First” movement has had in translating their ideas into positive action that has actually improved American manufacturing.
And most importantly…
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These are people’s lives we’re talking about.
Jobs. Careers. Incomes.
Respect. A place in the world.
All taken away as employers change their plans.
And while we have confirmed reports that many of these workers received severance…that’s not the same thing as having a long-term job and plan. You know?
It’s a distressing state of affairs.
So here’s my ask:
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If you have any advice or ideas for workers who’ve lost their jobs in this latest rash of factory closings…
Please share it in the comments.
We’re all one American community. Let’s support each other through this.
And if you’re passionate about these kinds of stories which impact American food supply, production, and consumption – make sure to like this story and follow The Coconut Mama on MSN!
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