Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs PepsiCo, a snack and beverage giant that owns 23 brands, announced that a Frito-Lay plant in Liberty, New York, will close at the end of spring, laying off nearly 300 people.Newsweek has reached out to the town of Liberty and PepsiCo for comment via email on Thursday.Why It Matters The plant has been a notable employer in the region for at least three decades, and the mass layoffs are likely to impact the town’s economy.Layoffs are occurring across industries right now, with significant cuts to the federal workforce, one of the nation’s largest employers. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits hit a three-month high last week, according to the latest report from the Labor Department published Thursday.What To KnowThe plant, located in a town of around 10,000 people in New York’s Catskill Mountains, produces the popular corn chips, PopCorners.PepsiCo Foods USA said that the plant has played a “vital role” in production, “but the pace of growth for this product line paired with broader industry pace of growth has made it difficult to sustain the site’s long-term viability.”The facility currently employs 287 workers, all of which are stated as “affected workers” in the Department of Labor Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed on February 18.The document states that layoffs at the plant are expected to begin May 21 up until June 6. “We deeply appreciate the contributions of our Liberty employees, and this decision does not diminish the value of their hard work and dedication,” Pepsi Co Foods USA said in a statement.The facility has been employing people from the region for almost 30 years, since 1997.
This is a shelf of Diet Pepsi 2 liter bottles at a market in Homestead, Pennsylvania, on Monday, February 24, 2025.
This is a shelf of Diet Pepsi 2 liter bottles at a market in Homestead, Pennsylvania, on Monday, February 24, 2025.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
PepsiCo’s revenue declined in the fourth quarter as North American consumers continued to scale back purchases of Frito-Lay snacks and beverages. The company reported $27.78 billion in revenue for the October-December period, which was below the company’s $27.85 billion in the same time a year ago.PepsiCo’s net income rose 17 percent to $1.52 billion, or $1.11 per share, up from $1.30 billion, or $0.94 per share, a year earlier. Core earnings per share (EPS) reached $1.96, surpassing analysts’ expectations, according to AlphaStreet.In October, PepsiCo closed four bottling plants across the country and laid off around 400 workers.What People Are SayingSullivan County Legislature Chair Nadia Rajsz, Town of Liberty Supervisor Frank DeMayo and Village of Liberty Mayor Joan Stoddard issued a joint statement on February 19: “We are deeply concerned about PepsiCo’s decision to shutter their Liberty food manufacturing facility, which has been an integral part of our community for decades and employs hundreds of locals. This action will have many impacts, which we intend to sort out with PepsiCo’s assistance in the coming weeks.”Sullivan County Legislator Louie Alvarez told The Times Union: “Most of these people have lived in Sullivan County for many years. Their families live here, they’ve bought homes here, their kids go to public schools here. The impact will be tremendous. … They are families who have been here a long time and now they have to start over again.”PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said in February about Q4 performance: “Our businesses remained resilient in 2024, despite subdued category performance trends in North America, the continued impacts related to a recall in our Quaker Foods North America division and business disruptions due to geopolitical tensions in certain international markets.”What Happens Next?PepsiCo said they have notified the workers and are “working closely with our employees and local community officials to provide a supportive transition.”The town said it will be helping impacted workers “by providing needed services to individuals and families, and offering the full support of our Center for Workforce Development in keeping our residents locally employed.”
