Danone is closing its plant-based beverage facility in Bridgeton, New Jersey, with the site scheduled to cease operations on August 4. The closure will affect 114 employees, with layoffs running through November 2, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed with the state.
The 25-year-old facility, which the company describes as the first soy protein extraction plant built in the United States, currently produces Silk and So Delicious Dairy Free drinks. Production will be redistributed to existing Danone plants in Mt. Crawford, Virginia; Dallas, Texas; and Jacksonville, Florida.
“This change is part of a broader effort to transform our network and enables our investment in critical capabilities across our core US footprint for the long term,” the company said to Just Food.
The closure follows a difficult period for Danone’s plant-based division in the region. When presenting the company’s full-year 2025 results in February, CFO Juergen Esser described Danone’s North American plant-based business as having delivered an “unsatisfactory performance” last year.
Dairy investments continue elsewhere
The New Jersey closure stands against a backdrop of Danone ramping up investment in its conventional dairy operations. Last month, the company announced roughly €20 million in expanded skyr production capacity in France. In November, it committed to a capacity increase at its Boucherville, Canada, facility that will raise yogurt output by 40% and raw milk processing by 20%. A separate expansion of its Minster, Ohio yogurt plant, producing brands including Oikos and Activia, was announced in August 2025.
