Key Points:
- J.M. Smucker plans to close and pursue a sale of a Hostess manufacturing plant in Indianapolis by early 2026 to consolidate its sweets production footprint.
- The plant currently employs 259 workers and was acquired by Smucker as part of a $5.6 billion purchase of Hostess two years ago.
- Smucker will provide more details about the plant closure when it releases its fourth-quarter results on June 10.
Insight:
Food manufacturers are closing facilities to streamline supply chains and reduce costs amid a slowdown in consumer spending due to inflation and economic uncertainty.
PepsiCo, Conagra Brands, Post Holdings, and Brown-Forman are among the companies that have announced plant closures this year.
The decision to close the Indianapolis plant, nearly 70 years old, was made to optimize manufacturing operations and reduce complexity, according to Judd Freitag, Smucker’s senior vice president.