Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) is closing its US K-Cup production site in Virginia, as it plans to “ramp” up operations in South Carolina.
The coffee giant issued a WARN notice on 16 July for the factory in Windsor, Virginia, the closure of which impacts 379 staff.
KDP said it expected operations to be wrapped up at the Virginia site by the end of the year. The company owns the building and land, both of which it intends to sell.
“The timing of this closure aligns with the production ramp of our Spartanburg, South Carolina, manufacturing facility, and enables us to rebalance our production capacity geographically and advance our effort to operate efficiently,” a KDP spokesperson said.
KDP added: “Team members may apply for any jobs for which they are qualified at other sites. The company will make the review of their resumes and qualifications a priority.”
Windsor's production will be moved to KDP’s South Carolina plant, which opened in 2021. The facility is centred on coffee roasting and packaging of K-Cup coffee pods.
The US drinks group invested $100m in production, warehousing and distribution at the South Carolina site last year following a $385m injection at the plant, which employs 155 staff.
The closure means KDP's US coffee-roasting facilities will be reduced to five.
In April, after reporting a 2.1% fall in sales from its US coffee business in the first quarter of 2024, KDP said it was seeking to emphasise the “value” of its products to stem declining sales. Overall, KDP posted first-quarter net sales of $3.47bn, up 3.4% year on year. It had a net income of $454m, down from $467m.
In 2023, KDP generated net sales of $14bn, up 10.8% year on year. It had a net income of $1.4bn, down 33.1% on the previous year. Of that, its US coffee segment had net sales of $4.3bn for the year, up 5.2%. However, its income from operations for US coffee was down 7% to $1.2bn.