Employers
Nestlé plans to close its factory in Solon, Ohio, by the end of 2027 and gradually shift its production to the company’s plant in Gaffney, South Carolina, the company confirmed Monday, Oct. 19. Nestlé has not said how many workers will lose their jobs.
Production in Solon is expected to wind down by the third quarter of 2027, with the factory closing by the end of that year, according to Food Dive. The work moving to Gaffney is pouch production for Nestlé’s foodservice business, which Food Processing identified as Nestlé Professional Solutions pouches. The shift will happen gradually over the coming months, the company said.
Why Nestlé says it is closing the plant
Nestlé told Food Dive the closure is meant to “respond to changing consumer needs and shifts in product volume.” In a statement, the company added: “As customer needs and volumes evolve, we determined that building on capabilities already in place elsewhere in our network was the most sustainable path forward.” A Nestlé USA spokesperson told Cleveland 19 the move is part of an effort to better serve consumers and optimize the company’s network.
What happens to workers
The company has not released a headcount for the factory. Food Processing reported that media accounts have described the number affected as “hundreds,” but Nestlé has not confirmed a figure, and Cleveland 19 said it had asked the Solon mayor’s office how many employees are affected.
Nestlé said it is “supporting impacted Solon factory employees through comprehensive separation and transition support,” and that affected workers can apply for open roles at other Nestlé locations, including in Ohio. The company told Food Dive it plans to file a federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice around March. That filing could provide the first official count of affected positions.
Solon Mayor Edward Kraus called the decision “difficult news for Solon and for the employees and families affected,” News 5 Cleveland reported. Kraus said the city will work with Nestlé and state and regional partners to help affected workers find jobs and support services.
What stays in Solon
The closure covers only the factory. Nestlé’s broader Solon campus, which houses research and development, corporate operations and several Nestlé businesses, is not closing, according to Food Dive and News 5. The company says it employs nearly 3,000 people across seven facilities in Ohio, including manufacturing, research and corporate roles, and said it “will continue to maintain a strong presence in the state.”
A factory that has been shrinking
The Solon plant was long the home of Stouffer’s frozen meals, Food Processing noted, but it had apparently been making only the foodservice pouches in recent years. The site has already been through cuts. Nestlé previously cut 77 jobs on the Solon campus, and in January 2024 it announced plans to lay off 216 workers at the factory, which employed 780 people at the time, according to Food Dive and Food Processing. Those earlier figures describe past reductions and are not a count of the workers affected by the closure.
Meanwhile, Nestlé has been building up Gaffney. Food Processing reported that the South Carolina plant received a $100 million expansion in 2021 and a further $150 million investment announced in late 2024. Nestlé has not said whether the production shift will add jobs in Gaffney.
The bigger picture
The closure comes as Nestlé works to improve results in North America. Chief Financial Officer Anna Manz said at a Barclays conference that “more needs to be done” on execution in the region, Food Dive reported, and cited slower growth in frozen food. Other food and beverage makers, including PepsiCo, Tyson Foods, JBS, Danone and Mars, have also announced U.S. facility closures this year, according to Food Dive.
For Solon workers, the timeline matters: production is expected to continue into 2027, and the company’s WARN filing should clarify how many jobs are affected and when separations begin.
Sources
- Food Dive, “Nestlé to close Ohio factory by end of 2027,” October 20, 2026. https://www.fooddive.com/news/nestle-plant-closure-ohio/833464/
- Cleveland 19 News, “Nestlé confirms Solon factory closure, operations moving to South Carolina,” October 19, 2026. https://www.cleveland19.com/2026/10/19/nestl-confirms-solon-factory-closure-operations-moving-south-carolina/
- News 5 Cleveland (News 5 Staff), report on Nestlé’s plan to gradually close its Solon factory, October 2026. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/nestle-to-gradually-close-solon-factory-move-production-to-south-carolina-spokesperson-says
- Food Processing, “Nestle Ending Last Production in Solon, Ohio,” October 20, 2026. https://www.foodprocessing.com/business-of-food-beverage/capital-spending/news/55413288/nestle-ending-last-production-in-solon-ohio
Featured photo: Nestlé's chocolate production factory on Sterling Road in Toronto, a former Cowan Company facility, May 4, 2026. Representative image; not the Solon, Ohio, factory that Nestlé plans to close. Photo: Alex Laney, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). Cropped from the original.
