Del Monte Finalizes Asset Sale, Shuttering Plant and Cutting 1,800 Jobs
Del Monte Foods Corporation II Inc. announced on March 19, 2026, that it had finalized the sale of its entire portfolio of business operations, including its well-known Vegetable, Fruit, Tomato, and Broth & Stock brands. While the company framed the event as the successful completion of strategic transactions, the move is the culmination of a corporate restructuring that followed a bankruptcy filing on July 1 and results in a significant operational shutdown.
The most immediate impact is the closure of the company's fruit cannery in Modesto, California. The shutdown eliminates about 600 year-round and 1,200 seasonal jobs after no buyer emerged to continue plant operations. The displaced cannery workers, represented by Teamsters Local 948, earned wages between $20 and $40 an hour, representing a substantial loss of income for the local community.
Agricultural Supply Chain Disrupted as Peach Acreage Plummets
The closure sends shockwaves through the regional agricultural economy, which has long supplied the cannery. Local peach growers with Del Monte contracts now face significant financial uncertainty. The shutdown leaves Pacific Coast Producers in Lodi as the sole remaining major fruit canner in the region, dramatically altering the competitive landscape for produce suppliers.
This event accelerates a multi-decade trend of decline in the local industry. In Stanislaus County, land dedicated to peach cultivation has collapsed from 13,332 acres in 1980 to just 2,676 acres in 2024. Del Monte's exit from the area is poised to further pressure the viability of the remaining growers and consolidate the processing market.
Closure Exacerbates Stanislaus County's Economic Strain
Del Monte's downsizing is part of a wider pattern of economic distress in Stanislaus County, which has seen nearly 2,000 total job losses from employer closures in recent months. The cannery layoffs compound job cuts from Advanced Linen Service, which shed 89 workers after being sold to a competitor, and auto parts distributor First Brands Group, which is cutting 98 jobs as it closes its distribution center following a bankruptcy filing and federal indictments against its executives. These combined events signal deepening economic challenges for the region's labor market.