Pet food maker Alphia plans to lay off 93 workers at its Pawnee City facility as the company shifts the plant from manufacturing into a warehouse and distribution hub. The cuts are scheduled to begin during a 14-day window starting February 1, 2027, and the Nebraska town's main industrial employer will emerge from the transition looking very different than it has for the past four decades.
Company Notified State Labor Officials Wednesday
Alphia notified the Nebraska Department of Labor of the planned job cuts Wednesday through a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter, according to WOWT. The company said it is consolidating its Pawnee City and Bern, Kansas operations and relocating manufacturing to Bern and other company facilities. Rather than closing outright, the Pawnee City site will remain open as a warehouse and distribution center serving the Midwest, the station reported.
Some of the laid-off employees in Pawnee City will be able to transfer to Alphia's plant in Bern, according to Nebraska Public Media. The outlet reported the Pawnee City location will be repurposed into a warehouse and distribution operation, but the company did not say how many employees will remain there once the shift is complete. Sources differ on exactly how far that move would send transferring workers: WOWT reported Bern is located about 20 miles south of Pawnee City, while the public media outlet put the distance at about 25 miles.
A Plant With Roots Going Back Four Decades
The Pawnee City plant has been in operation since 1985, per WOWT's report, long predating the company's current name. Alphia was formerly known as C.J. Foods and became Alphia following a 2022 merger, according to MSC News. Today the company operates seven manufacturing facilities, four warehouse and logistics centers, and one ingredient milling facility across the United States, per that outlet's reporting.
Alphia said the decision is part of a broader effort that includes capital investments across multiple facilities to increase capacity and support future growth, Nebraska Public Media reported. The company also said it is putting in place transition plans to support affected employees, per MSC News, though specifics beyond the possible Bern transfers were not detailed.
Local Revenue and Statewide Manufacturing Losses
The plant's downsizing carries financial stakes for Pawnee City itself. Alphia paid approximately $93,000 for water and sewer services last year, and local officials anticipate a significant decrease in utility revenue once manufacturing ends, according to WOWT.
The layoffs land amid a rough stretch for Nebraska's manufacturing sector. Nebraska has lost 4,600 manufacturing jobs over the past 12 months, or 4.5 percent of its total manufacturing workforce, while the U.S. economy added 40,000 manufacturing jobs over the same period, the public media outlet reported. A state labor department list also showed about a half dozen other manufacturing or industrial layoffs in Nebraska, costing around 1,000 jobs, while listing a 3,212-job Tyson Foods notice for its Lexington plant dated November 21, 2025, and a separate 294-job extension notice dated January 21, 2026, according to the same report.
Under state rules, the Nebraska Department of Labor says WARN requires employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and mass layoffs. How Alphia's filing fits that framework was not addressed in the available reporting.
