Giant snack company closes key distribution centers, lays of 100s

Giant snack company closes key distribution centers, lays of 100s


Shoppers at the grocery store often load their baskets with all kinds of snacks from one or more of the top producers who dominate the sector — Nestle, Pepsico, and Mondelez International.

You can’t miss Pepsico’s products, which include Frito-Lay’s Doritos, Cheetos, and Lay’s potato chips, just to name a few. Frito-Lay’s products are popular with consumers everywhere.

But sales of snack foods have been declining, as Pepsico saw its fourth quarter of 2024 revenue decrease by 0.2% and its Frito-Lay brand’s sales volume dropped by 3%, according to BakeryandSnacks.com.

Consumers blame the decline on more selective purchasing from inflation and higher borrowing costs and consumer focus on health and wellness.

The decline also has led to a downsizing of operations from snack manufacturers.

Aside from Pepsico, other major players like The JM Smucker Co., which purchased Hostess for $5.6 billion in 2023, have also seen declining sales in their Sweet Baked Snacks business, JustFood reported.

J.M. Smucker reported third quarter results, through January 2026, were below its expectations as sweet snack sales declined.

“In Sweet Baked Snacks, the path to stabilization is taking longer than we expected,” J.M. Smucker CEO Mark Smucker said.

“Profitability is below our expectations and particularly in our third quarter,” said Tucker Marshall, executive vice president of the Sweet Baked Snacks division.

Another sweet snacks company faced distress and bankruptcy in 2025, as national candy distributor CandyWarehouse.com Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a week before Halloween on Oct. 24, 2025, to reorganize and restucture debt, facing a significant drop in its revenue earlier in the year.

Bankruptcy was not an option for a huge snack company that faced declining revenue.

Giant snack company closes key distribution centers, lays of 100s
Frito-Lay is closing several warehouse and distribution facilities across the nation.

Giant snack food and beverage company Pepsico said it will close its Frito-Lay distribution facility in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., as it seeks to balance its production with lagging demand, Food Dive reported.

Pepsico’s Frito-Lay division sent a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice to the California Employment Development Department and employees on Feb. 10, asserting that the company will permanently close the Rancho Cucamonga warehouse facility by June 6, 2026, and lay off 248 employees.

More closings:

The company said it plans to move the facility’s operations to a new distribution center in the community. Pepsico closed the Rancho Cucamonga plant’s manufacturing operations in 2025.

The huge beverage and snacks company has been closing manufacturing and distribution facilities across the nation since 2024.

Pepsico closed its Orlando, Fla., manufacturing plant and onsite warehouse on Nov. 4, 2025, laying off 454 workers. It will also close an off-site warehouse in Orlando, which employs 46 staff members, by May 9, 2026.

Frito-Lay also closed its Liberty, N.Y., PopCorners manufacturing plant on June 6, 2025, laying off 287 workers.

Pepsico closed a Quaker Oats factory in Danville, Ill., and Pepsi bottling plants in Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Harrisburg, Pa., laying off about 300 employees in 2024.

The New York-based company in December 2025 said its would slash prices and cut back on the number of products it sells in response to a reductio in consumer spending and pressure from an activist investor.

  • Distribution center, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., June 6, 2026

  • Warehouse, Orlando, Fla., May 9, 2026

  • Manufacturing plant, Liberty, N.Y., June 6, 2025

  • Manufacturing plant and warehouse, Orlando, Fla., Nov. 4, 2024

  • Quaker Oats factory, Danville, Ill., 2024

  • Pepsi Bottling Plants, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Harrisburg, Pa., 2024

  • Source: Food Dive

Related: Favorite U.S. wine brand closes down, no bankruptcy

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.


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