ConAgra plans to permanently close its food-manufacturing plant in Macon, Missouri, on January 15, 2027, shuttering a facility that received a multimillion-dollar expansion barely a year and a half ago. The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, notice with the state on Monday, confirming the plant will close in its entirety.
According to a WARN notice cited by FOX4KC.com, the closure is expected to be permanent, with the facility shutting down completely and every employee who works at or reports into the Macon site affected. The station reported the closure will eliminate 442 jobs, though accounts of the exact headcount vary. KTTN reported the notice identified 435 affected employees, broken down as 388 production, maintenance, and truck-driver positions along with 47 management and administrative roles.
ConAgra attributed the decision to a broader look at its operations. The company said the move followed a review of its manufacturing network and reflected efforts to operate efficiently while supporting business needs, as reported by ABC17NEWS. A ConAgra spokesperson, Christina Gales, said employees were notified about the planned closure on Monday.
How the Shutdown Will Unfold
Per the same account from KTTN, employee separations are scheduled to take place over 14 days beginning January 15, 2027, rather than all at once. Some workers at the plant are represented by a union, and their separations will be governed by the terms of those union agreements, according to KHMO Radio.
Federal rules generally require advance notice for closures of this size. The U.S. Department of Labor states that employers must provide at least 60 calendar days of advance written notice for a plant closing or mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees at a single site, though the agency's guidance does not spell out how every detail or exception might apply to a specific case like this one.
A Plant That Had Just Been Expanded
The closure announcement lands roughly a year and a half after ConAgra touted a very different future for the Macon facility. In May 2025, the company announced a $29.1 million expansion of the plant, a project the Missouri Department of Economic Development said at the time would create 26 new jobs while retaining the facility's 340 existing positions.
Meatingplace reported similar details of that 2025 investment, noting plans to retain the 340 existing jobs at the facility even as new positions were added. The reversal, less than two years later, leaves the plant slated for total shutdown rather than growth.
What Remains Unclear
Reporting so far has not resolved why the employee totals cited by different outlets differ, nor which figure, 442 or 435, is the definitive count tied to the WARN filing. Details on severance, job placement assistance, or other individual transition arrangements for affected workers have also not been made public.
