A frosted frozen dinner tray on a white background with the Conagra Brands logo

Conagra Brands to Close Missouri Ingredients Plant, Cutting 442 Jobs

Conagra Brands will close its ingredients plant in Macon, Missouri, on Jan. 15, laying off 442 workers, according to a state layoff notice. Production will move mainly to Arkansas.

Conagra Brands will close its ingredients plant in Macon, Missouri, on Jan. 15, 2027, laying off 442 workers, according to a layoff notice filed in Missouri. The plant makes food ingredients used in frozen meals produced at other Conagra facilities, Food Dive reported. Production will shift mainly to locations in Arkansas.

TLDR

  • Conagra issued the layoff notice on Nov. 9, Just Food reported, citing law firm Strauss Borrelli.
  • Conagra has exited its Celeste frozen pizza business and is weighing cuts to other brands and products, Food Dive reported.
  • The company owns Healthy Choice, Marie Callender’s and Orville Redenbacher’s.
  • Conagra expects organic net sales to fall 1% to 3% in its 2027 fiscal year, Food Dive reported.

The Closure

Conagra told Food Dive the move came after a careful review of its manufacturing network and was not made lightly. The company did not name the Arkansas sites that will take on the work.

The notice was filed under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which generally requires 60 days’ notice before a large plant closing. Just Food said it had asked Conagra about the reasons for the closure and its layoff package and had not heard back at the time of publication.

Conagra’s Turnaround

John Brase, a former J.M. Smucker executive, became Conagra’s chief executive on June 1, Just Food reported. He told Food Dive in July that he was prepared to make bold decisions to improve the company’s performance.

In its fiscal first quarter, which ended Aug. 30, net sales fell 1.4% to $2.6 billion, and organic sales fell 1.1%, according to Just Food.

Why It Matters

Food Dive tied this year’s slow sales across packaged food to a pullback in spending, a shift toward healthier and less processed foods, and rising use of GLP-1 weight loss drugs. PepsiCo, The Campbell’s Company and Tyson Foods have also announced plant closures this year, Food Dive reported.

For Conagra, the Macon closure folds frozen meal ingredient work into fewer plants as the company reshapes its portfolio.

Sources: Food Dive (Christopher Doering, Nov. 12, 2026); Just Food (Simon Harvey, Nov. 12, 2026).