Del Monte Sells All Food Brands, Shutters Cannery and Cuts 1,800 Jobs

Key Takeaways

Del Monte Foods has completed the sale of all its business segments, including its vegetable, fruit, and tomato lines, as part of a major corporate restructuring. This strategic divestiture follows a bankruptcy filing and results in the closure of its major Modesto fruit cannery, signaling a fundamental shift in the company's operations and a significant contraction in the packaged foods sector.

1. Corporate Restructuring: On March 19, 2026, Del Monte Foods announced the successful sale of all its business segments as going-concern businesses, effectively divesting its core food production operations.
2. Massive Job Cuts: The restructuring leads to the closure of the Modesto fruit cannery, eliminating approximately 600 year-round and 1,200 seasonal positions after no buyer was found to keep the plant running.
3. Economic Ripple Effect: The shutdown severely impacts Stanislaus County's agricultural economy, leaving local peach growers without contracts and accelerating a decline that has seen peach acreage fall from 13,332 acres in 1980 to 2,676 in 2024.