Conagra Brands, the packaged food company behind Healthy Choice and Marie Callender’s meals, is closing its plant in Macon, Missouri, and laying off all 442 people on the state’s notice. The layoff date the company filed with Missouri is January 15, 2027.
The decision hits a small northern Missouri county where the plant has been the biggest employer. Only 18 months ago, state officials were celebrating a multimillion-dollar expansion at the same factory and promising new jobs there.
What Conagra filed with Missouri on November 9
Missouri’s 2026 WARN notice list shows a filing from Conagra Brands, Inc. received on November 9, 2026. It lists the site as Macon in Macon County, the business as food manufacturing, the action as a closing rather than a partial layoff, 442 affected employees and a layoff date of January 15, 2027.
Among the six notices Missouri logged in October and November, only Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, at 473 jobs, is larger.
Employees were told on Monday, November 9, KRCG reported. In a statement to the station, Conagra said the closing followed “a careful review” of its manufacturing network, that the decision “was not made lightly,” and that it is committed to treating affected employees “fairly and with respect throughout the transition.” The company said the plant will cease operations on January 15. A statement from Macon Mayor James “Talt” Holman put the closing in December, a different month from the date on the state filing.
What a closing notice leaves out: The Macon filing sets January 15 as the end for 442 jobs, but it says nothing about the car payments, card balances and medical bills that keep coming due after a last paycheck. The debt-validation steps in The Bank Account & Debt Protection Kit lay out how a collector can be made to prove a debt before anything is paid.
The $29.1 million Macon expansion from 2025
In May 2025, the Missouri Department of Economic Development announced that Conagra would invest $29.1 million in the Macon plant, add 26 jobs and keep 340 existing positions. The department called Conagra the largest employer in Macon County and said the work would help meet demand for items such as Healthy Choice and Marie Callender’s meals.
The project was supposed to replace bake ovens, freezers, dewatering equipment and raw meat inspection equipment, add cooler and preparation space, and raise production capacity. Gov. Mike Kehoe said at the time that it was “great to see Conagra continuing to invest, expand, and create jobs in Macon.”
The state said Conagra would use Missouri Works, a program that lets a company keep employee withholding taxes or receive tax credits tied to new jobs, and might also get recruiting and training help from Missouri One Start. Neither the WARN entry nor the company’s statement says whether any of those incentives were paid out or must be returned.
How the federal WARN Act applies to the closing
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act exists to make sure workers get advance notice of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs, according to the Labor Department. The department notes that only federal courts enforce the law, and it takes questions at warn.inquiries@dol.gov or 202-693-3079.
Conagra’s filing reached Missouri 67 days before the January 15 layoff date. Missouri’s WARN program page lists a state WARN coordinator at 1-800-877-8698 for questions about notices filed with the state.
Where Macon workers can file for unemployment
Missouri’s Division of Employment Security takes unemployment claims through its online UInteract system, according to the state’s page for unemployed workers. The same page lists regional claims centers in Jefferson City at 573-751-9040, Kansas City at 816-889-3101, St. Louis at 314-340-4950 and Springfield at 417-895-6851, plus 800-320-2519 for callers outside those areas.
The Macon County Department of Economic Development told KRCG that affected employees can get help through the Missouri Rapid Response Program. Workers who expect to file for benefits can start by confirming the separation date and keeping copies of the notice and final pay records.
The most costly mistake in a layoff like this one is working from the wrong date. The mayor’s office and the company have given different months, so the separation date printed on each worker’s own notice is the one that matters for final pay and for any claim.
What Conagra has not said about the Macon closing
The company has not said publicly which products the Macon plant currently makes, where that production will go, or whether severance is being offered. Conagra reports about 18,000 employees across its business, according to its company profile, so the Macon cut equals a small slice of its workforce but most of the jobs in one rural county.
For the people inside the plant, the January 15 date on the state notice is the one firm number. Everything else, from transfers to severance terms, will come from Conagra in the weeks before the doors close.
Macon households after the last paycheck
For 442 Macon workers, January 15 is the date regular wages stop, while rent, car loans and card bills keep their own due dates. When one of those accounts goes unpaid long enough, it can be sold to a collection agency, and the collector’s first letter opens a short window to demand proof of what is owed.
The Bank Account & Debt Protection Kit pairs the debt-validation steps with a protected-funds and dispute log for recording each collector, each letter and each reply.
Read the debt-validation steps in The Bank Account & Debt Protection Kit.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy against Missouri’s WARN filings, Missouri Department of Economic Development records and news reports.
Grant Mercer covers market dynamics, business trends, and the economic forces driving growth across industries. His analysis connects macro movements with real-world implications for investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Through his work at The Daily Overview, Grant helps readers understand how markets function and where opportunities may emerge.
