2025 proved to be a challenging year for the food manufacturing industry, marked by some of the largest layoffs in recent memory. Rising costs, evolving consumer preferences, and company-wide restructuring led to sweeping job cuts, reshaping the workforce landscape. Amid these widespread reductions, a handful of companies stood out for the scale of their workforce changes. Here are the 12 food giants that recorded the most significant job cuts this year.
ADM
In 2025, Archer‑Daniels‑Midland (ADM) announced plans to slash up to 700 jobs globally as part of a broad cost‑cutting and restructuring effort after facing significant market headwinds, particularly in its nutrition and crop trading segments. The planned layoffs represent roughly 1.7% of its workforce and are tied to the company’s attempt to streamline operations and generate $500 million to $750 million in savings over the next three to five years, with a portion of that expected as early as this year. The cuts come amid weaker demand for key products, a sharp drop in operating profits, and challenges like biofuel policy uncertainty and commodity price pressures, prompting ADM’s leadership to rethink its portfolio and improve competitiveness.
Beyond Meat
Beyond Meat revealed this year that it’s reducing its global workforce by approximately 6% (about 44 jobs) as the plant-based protein maker grapples with weakening demand for its burgers, sausages, and chicken alternatives amid broader market headwinds. The cuts follow disappointing financial results, including a drop in revenue, which the company attributed to softer retail and international foodservice demand. Leadership is taking aggressive steps to rein in costs and better align staffing with current sales trends in the face of persistent shifts in consumer preferences.
General Mills
In 2025, General Mills unveiled a multi‑year global transformation initiative that is expected to result in job cuts as part of efforts to boost productivity and streamline operations amid softer demand for its core cereal and snacking products. Under the plan, the company will undertake “targeted organizational actions” designed to increase efficiency, with total restructuring charges of about $130 million anticipated through fiscal 2028, including roughly $70 million tied to severance costs this year. The initiative comes as General Mills has lowered its sales and profit forecasts due to slower consumer spending in key channels, prompting leadership to adjust its workforce and operational structure to better position the company for long‑term growth
Heineken
Heineken announced a major restructuring of its global headquarters in Amsterdam, cutting around 400 jobs as part of its EverGreen 2030 plan to simplify operations and increase business agility. The changes involve redesigning certain departments, moving some roles to the Heineken Business Services unit, and eliminating others entirely, with implementation beginning in 2026. This restructuring reflects the company’s response to a shifting beer market and builds on earlier workforce adjustments, impacting roughly a quarter of its Amsterdam office staff
Hormel Foods
Earlier this year, Hormel Foods announced a corporate restructuring that will eliminate approximately 250 corporate and sales positions as part of efforts to better align its workforce with strategic priorities, support future growth, and strengthen overall business operations. The cuts are being implemented through a combination of closing open roles, reducing certain office‑based positions, and offering a voluntary early retirement program for some non‑plant employees. Hormel expects to incur $20 million to $25 million in restructuring charges, largely tied to pension benefits, severance, and other employee‑related costs, with most of these expenses hitting late in 2025 and early 2026. The company has stated that the changes are intended to free up resources for investment in areas like technology, innovation, and food safety while positioning the business for long‑term competitiveness amid industry headwinds
Molson Coors
Last October, Molson Coors Beverage Company announced a significant corporate restructuring that will eliminate approximately 400 salaried positions across its Americas business by the end of the year, representing about 9% of its regional workforce, as the Chicago‑based brewer seeks to become a leaner, more agile organization amid challenging market conditions. The cuts — which include both currently filled roles and positions that were already open — are part of a broader effort under new leadership to streamline operations, reinvest in priority brands, and support expansion into adjacent categories like non‑alcoholic beverages and energy drinks.
Nestlé
In 2025, Nestlé announced one of the most significant workforce reductions in its history, planning to eliminate 16,000 jobs worldwide — roughly 6 % of its 277,000‑strong global workforce — over the next two years as part of a sweeping turnaround and cost‑cutting strategy under new CEO Philipp Navratil. The cuts include 12,000 white‑collar positions across corporate functions and 4,000 roles in manufacturing and supply chain operations, reflecting the company’s push to simplify its structure, boost efficiency, and redirect investment to higher‑return areas amid slowing growth and persistent cost pressures.
PepsiCo
PepsiCo announced the closure of two Frito‑Lay facilities in Orlando, Florida, resulting in the elimination of about 500 jobs as part of efforts to respond to softer snack demand and align production with shifting consumer preferences. The shutdown includes a manufacturing plant and an on‑site warehouse that ceased operations in early November, affecting 454 employees, while a nearby off‑site warehouse is slated to close in May 2026, impacting an additional 46 workers.
Perdue Farms
Perdue Farms laid off nearly 300 workers at its turkey‑processing facility in Washington, Indiana, eliminating the plant’s second production shift effective October 10, as the company adjusts to shifting consumer demand and declining turkey flocks that have pressured operations. The cut affects the second shift only, with affected employees receiving pay and benefits through their separation date, and Perdue emphasized that other operations in Indiana — including its feed mill, hatchery, and grain facilities — will not be impacted by the layoffs.
Post
Post Holdings announced it would close two of its ready‑to‑eat cereal manufacturing facilities — in Cobourg, Ontario, and Sparks, Nevada — as part of a response to the prolonged decline in the cereal category, with the combined reductions expected to affect about 300 employees when both plants shut down by the end of the year. The move reflects weakening consumer demand for traditional cereals as shoppers shift toward low‑carb, portable, and “better‑for‑you” alternatives, prompting Post to reduce excess production capacity and optimize its North American manufacturing network. Production from the closing sites will be transferred to other facilities within Post’s network, with the company anticipating significant cost savings and restructuring charges tied to the layoffs and closures.
Tyson
Tyson Foods revealed a major restructuring of its beef business that will result in the closure of its Nebraska beef processing plant and a reduction of operations at its Texas plant to a single full‑capacity shift, leading to thousands more job losses across both sites. The company said the moves were necessary to “right‑size” its beef operations amid a historic shortage of U.S. cattle supplies, which has squeezed processing capacity and driven up costs, forcing packers like Tyson to streamline and reposition production to remain competitive. In total, Tyson’s adjustments are expected to affect more than 4,000 employees as it shifts production to other facilities and seeks to position the business for long‑term success in a challenging market.
Utz
Earlier this year, Utz Brands announced it will close its Grand Rapids, Michigan, manufacturing facility as part of a strategic effort to streamline its supply chain and optimize its production footprint, reducing the number of its primary plants from eight to seven. The move, aimed at cutting costs and reallocating volume to larger, more efficient facilities, will result in the elimination of about 75 jobs when operations at the site wind down by early 2026. Utz said affected workers are being encouraged to apply for roles at other plants and will be offered transition assistance.
Source: Food Dive