Factory Fallout: Manufacturing layoffs from Lawn and Garden, Atkore Plastics, PepsiCo Foods, and more

According to the latest jobs report from ADP, the manufacturing sector lost a total of 3,000 jobs last month. As economic uncertainty and tariff rates continue to bite into manufacturer’s profits, alongside ordinary business pressure, layoffs and plant closures are an inevitable cost of doing business. Read on to see five examples of manufacturers announcing impending job cuts and factory closures.

Several Lawn and Garden LLC workers in Excelsior Springs, Missouri will lose their jobs starting in January, local news media site KCTV5 reported November 6. The 93 jobs cut include 22 finishers, 13 extruder operators and 11 garden hose floor workers, along with an unspecified number of shift supervisors and managers. While most of the workers are members of Teamsters local 13-23, and will be eligible to transfer to new company positions, not all of the cut workers are union members.

PepsiCo Foods U.S. will close two Orlando, Florida Frito-Lay facilities, according to local news and a WARN notice filed with the state. The closure of a manufacturing plant and support warehouse means 454 manufacturing workers and 46 warehouse workers will lose their jobs. In a November 4 statement to local news agency Fox 35, PepsiCo Foods U.S. said the shutdown “was driven by business needs.”

Atkore Plastics Southeast will cut 42 jobs next year at its plant in Fort Mill, South Carolina, according to a WARN notice filed with the state November 6. The 42 workers will be permanently laid off by the end of September 2026. According to local news, the site makes PVC pipes for electrical conduits.

ELG Utica Alloys of Hartford, Connecticut will lay off 51 employees at the end of 2025, according to a WARN notice filed with the state November 6. The notice states that the workers will be laid off between May 1 and September 30, 2026. According to local news, the notice was filed the same day ELG announced it would build a new “Center of Excellence” somewhere in the United States and increasing volume at its factory in Duisburg, Germany.

Catalent Maryland, Inc. will lay off 77  employees across two manufacturing sites and one office in the greater Baltimore area, according to a series of WARN reports filed with the state November 6. It’s the pharmaceutical company’s second mass layoff this year: in August, according to more WARN reports and local media reporting, the company laid off a total of 342 employees from the same gene therapy facilities, cutting 320 from the factories and 32 from the Baltimore office. The latest permanent layoffs target 63 employees at the company’s Anne Arundel County factories and 14 more in Baltimore.