In less than a year, Tennessee has taken some serious hits to its food manufacturing economy. Three major facilities have shuttered operations or announced plans to leave.
This isn’t just a trend. It’s a troubling signal. And for the workers left behind, it’s nothing short of devastating.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on:
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In early 2025, Perdue Farms laid off over 433 workers at its Monterey plant, which handles further-processed chicken.
While the facility hasn’t shut down entirely, the company significantly scaled back operations, citing “changing customer needs.” Translation? Likely less demand and more outsourcing.
It’s a brutal loss in a rural town that heavily depends on poultry.
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Perdue’s move came just months after they invested millions in facility upgrades across the Southeast. But apparently, Monterey didn’t make the long-term cut.
The workers affected were mostly hourly positions, meaning fewer options and less support.
And they weren’t the only ones…
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In April 2025, Monogram Foods permanently closed its meat snack facility in Dickson, Tennessee.
The plant produced jerky and other protein snacks, frozen appetizers, corn dogs, USDA bakery products, bacon, and more.
Roughly 237 workers lost their jobs.
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Monogram is restructuring. The company is consolidating its operations into larger, more efficient plants in other states – likely where tax incentives or lower labor costs sweeten the deal.
This wasn’t about performance. It was about efficiency. Cold, hard math.
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Prairie Farms, one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the U.S., closed its milk processing plant in Gallatin earlier this year.
The closure came with almost no public warning, and left more than 120 people without work.
It may not sound like a big number, but in a niche industry like dairy, every job counts.
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Dairy milk sales have been declining for years. And with rising transport costs and tight margins, many regional plants just don’t make sense anymore.
Prairie Farms has been quietly closing or consolidating plants around the Midwest and South, and Gallatin was next in line.
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Each of these closures came from a different corner of the food world:
– Perdue: poultry processing
– Monogram: meat snacks
– Prairie Farms: dairy
They serve different markets. They follow different business models. But they’re all making the same move: Cut costs, shrink footprints, and walk away from Tennessee towns.
That should raise eyebrows.
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Behind every food factory is a network of farms, and when the factory goes dark, that entire chain gets disrupted.
Crops go unharvested. Animals ready for processing have nowhere to go. Decades-long partnerships disappear overnight.
Farmers don’t just lose income. They lose stability. Predictability. A place in the system they’ve built their lives around.
And unlike big corporations, they can’t just pivot to another state. They’re rooted in the land, and stuck with the consequences.
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This year has brought a wave of closures and layoffs across multiple industries. Here’s just a few more:
– Bahama Breeze (Memphis) – 97 jobs
– Adient (Henderson & Maury Counties) – 500+ jobs
– Bridgestone (La Vergne) – 800+ jobs
That’s thousands of Tennessee jobs gone, and we’re still only halfway through the year.
Something bigger is happening here…
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These closures are part of a broader national shift in how food and factory jobs are moving.
States like Arizona, Illinois, and California have all seen major layoffs and shutdowns. Even big-name brands like Coca-Cola have shuttered facilities in places like California and Massachusetts.
Manufacturing jobs are disappearing left and right these days.
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It’s not just workers and farmers feeling the pain… You might notice it too.
Less production in-state means more reliance on goods trucked in from afar. That adds cost, increases the risk of shortages, and weakens Tennessee’s role in feeding its own population.
And if more closures follow? That gap will only grow.
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None of these factories shut down for the exact same reason. But they all faced a brutal mix of pressures:
– Labor costs keep climbing
– Consumers are pulling back on everyday goods
– Automation is replacing workers
– Inflation and high interest rates are squeezing margins
– Corporations are consolidating operations wherever possible
It’s a perfect storm. And Tennessee’s food producers are caught in the middle.
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It’s hard to say. Tennessee still has a strong food processing base with giants like Tyson and Kellogg’s still active in the state.
But closures like these chip away at that foundation. And once a facility is gone, it rarely comes back.
That’s the harsh reality.
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Between Perdue Farms, Monogram Foods, and Prairie Farms Dairy, Tennessee has lost over 500 food manufacturing jobs in the past year.
So, what do YOU think?
Have you noticed more closures lately? What’s your take on it all? Let me know in the comments!
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