Summer is often thought of as a carefree time, full of relaxation and vacations. For many food and beverage manufacturing workers, though, this summer will be tainted as the time they found out they’re without jobs.
From early summer until now, several businesses have announced plans to permanently or partially close some of their locations. We’ll look at five such closure announcements next.
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On June 2, 2025, Johnsonville abruptly closed its plant in the small community of Momence, Illinois (about 50 miles south of Chicago). The plant had been operated by Johnsonville since 1995. And the worst part? The employees didn’t see it coming.
Johnsonville Sausage Company describes itself as “the most popular brand of sausage in the United States”. The majority of its processing is done in Wisconsin and Kansas…but no longer Illinois, as of June 2nd, 2025.
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The abrupt closure of the Johnsonville plant shocked the small community of Momence, Illinois, which is about 50 miles south of Chicago. 274 employees were impacted by the sudden closure.
In response to the Momence facility closure, Johnsonville issued a statement, saying, “We made the difficult decision after evaluating how best to optimize our operations network to address current and future growth. This decision was based on optimizing our operations across our other newer facilities.”
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PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay plant in Cucamonga, California, has been operational for 55 years and employs around 480 people. Popular chips like Tostitos, Doritos, and Lay’s are produced at such facilities.
In June, the news that PepsiCo plans to cease manufacturing operations at the Cucamonga plant hit…
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The good news is that not all of the 480 people who work at the Cucamonga Frito-Lay plant will be laid off. According to PepsiCo, it will continue to operate its warehouse, distribution, fleet, and transportation teams – it’s just the manufacturing portion that is being shuttered.
The pullback comes amidst reduced consumer spending.
PepsiCo’s earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter ending March 31, 2025, was $1.33, a 10.14% decline year-over-year. Compare this to the 5.95% EPS INCREASE from 2023-2024, and that’s quite the contrast.
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In May 2025, layoffs began for employees working at a PopCorners (owned by PepsiCo) plant in Liberty, New York.
The layoffs impacted 287 employees. What did PepsiCo have to say about it?
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PepsiCo’s response to the PopCorners plant closure stated: “This plant has played a vital role in producing our beloved PopCorners brand, but the pace of growth for this product line paired with broader industry pace of growth has made it difficult to sustain the site’s long-term viability.”
(In case you’ve never heard of PopCorners, they’re essentially airpopped corn snacks that are triangularly shaped like tortilla chips, and they come in different flavors.)
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While the closure won’t take effect until next month, the announcement of PepsiCo’s plans to shutter its Detroit, Michigan, facility was also made this summer in July. The closure will impact around 84 employees.
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Pepsi’s statement said, “PepsiCo Beverages U.S. recently announced the shutdown of manufacturing, transport and maintenance operations at our Detroit site. Our warehouse, fleet, delivery, sales and field service teams will continue to operate at this location.”
Similar to the Frito-Lay plant in Cucamonga, not all of the employees at the plant will be impacted – only the manufacturing team.
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Del Monte Foods, one of the longest-standing canned fruit and vegetable brands in the country, filed for bankruptcy early last month.
Del Monte’s CEO is optimistic that the filing will help Del Monte in the long run, stating, “This is a strategic step forward for Del Monte Foods. After a thorough evaluation of all available options, we determined a court-supervised sale process is the most effective way to accelerate our turnaround and create a stronger and enduring Del Monte Foods.”
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Shortly before the official start of summer in late May, Del Monte announced that it’s closing one of its large pear canneries in Yakima, Washington. In addition, Del Monte is closing two of its warehouses that produce and store fruit products, also located in Yakima.
The closure is scheduled to take effect this month and is expected to impact 51 full-time jobs and 448 seasonal positions. This follows the 2024 closure of another Del Monte facility nearby in Toppenish, Washington, which resulted in 127 lob losses.
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We’re seeing an increase in factory closures in the U.S. amid economic uncertainty due to inflation, increased cost of living, and many other factors.
Have closures impacted you or anyone you know so far in 2025? Share your experiences in the comments, if you feel inclined.
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