TreeHouse Foods is swinging the axe in South Beloit, cutting hundreds of jobs and shutting down its long‑running cookie plant as the company remakes itself under new owners. The Oak Brook private‑label manufacturer says the move will wipe out the remaining production roles at the facility, the latest and harshest step in a series of reductions. Workers and local officials warn that the closure will leave a noticeable hole in the stateline manufacturing economy.
As reported by Crain's Chicago Business, TreeHouse notified the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity on Feb. 13 that a new round of layoffs would begin April 17 and that it planned to let go of the remaining 168 employees at the South Beloit site. According to that report, the move brings TreeHouse's recent cuts to roughly 447 positions when combined with earlier staff reductions. The WARN notice referenced in the coverage also states that there are no bumping rights for affected workers.
Take‑private deal closed Feb. 11
TreeHouse had just wrapped up its previously announced sale to Investindustrial, a deal the company valued at $2.9 billion in total enterprise value, according to a Form 8‑K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The same filing lays out the new debt package used to finance the buyout and notes that TreeHouse was delisted from the NYSE when the merger officially closed on Feb. 11, 2026.
Financial strain and earlier cuts
The shake‑up follows a rough financial stretch. TreeHouse reported net sales of $840.3 million but a GAAP net loss of $265.8 million in the third quarter of 2025, driven largely by a $289.7 million goodwill impairment, according to its November earnings release. Management had already started trimming costs, announcing in April that roughly 150 corporate jobs would be cut as part of an efficiency plan. A previous WARN filing detailed about 129 layoffs at the South Beloit warehouse in 2025. Taken together, those steps paved the way for the full plant shutdown that is now underway.
Legal questions: WARN Act
The human toll may not be the only fallout. A Chicago law firm, Strauss Borrelli, has launched an inquiry into whether TreeHouse followed the federal WARN Act after the state's notice was posted, saying it is reviewing whether employees received the required 60 days of warning. The state's layoff registry entry for the South Beloit location lists the planned closure and the specific job classifications on the chopping block, including packers, team leaders, and maintenance mechanics, according to the Illinois WorkNet layoff detail.
Local impact and next steps
South Beloit officials say they saw the trouble coming in stages last year as shifts disappeared, but that does not soften the blow now. City administrator Sonya Hoppes told WIFR that local leaders had been warned earlier that production was shrinking and are now working to line up support for displaced workers while hunting for a new tenant for the site.
TreeHouse communications materials had previously stated that the company would "communicate directly with impacted employees regarding next steps," and its public filings and releases direct workers to state layoff‑recovery resources as the timeline firms up. The company reported employing roughly 7,400 full‑time workers at the end of 2024 in its most recent annual report, leaving South Beloit and regional workforce programs bracing for the hit and waiting on clarity around severance, benefits, and the return of company property.
