Laid off from PepsiCo.
PepsiCo's drink plants and warehouses have cut jobs two ways on record. When bottling ended in Chicago in 2024 and Cheverly, Maryland in 2026, pay and benefits were set to run about 60 days from the day workers heard, while warehouse handoffs in Tulsa and Columbia gave notice ahead and continued pay scaled to years of service.
At a glance
What's known about PepsiCo severance and layoffs
- 9, covering 1,490 jobs · PepsiCo WARN filings since 2025, our tracker
- 28 · All-time PepsiCo filings, our tracker
- 143 jobs, September 14, 2026 · Newest notice, Cheverly, Maryland
- CB Manufacturing, Inc., dba Pepsi Beverages · Filer in Maryland's log for Cheverly
- 184 jobs, production stays · Tulsa warehouse notice, July 2026
- $1,840 million through June 13, 2026 · Productivity plan severance and other employee costs
- About $6.15 billion · Productivity plan charges expected through 2030
Recent PepsiCo layoffs
PepsiCo announced 143 job cuts at its Cheverly, Maryland bottling plant in September 2026
PepsiCo told Maryland and its Cheverly workers on the same day, September 14, 2026, that all 143 plant jobs were ending, in fleet, transport, manufacturing and warehouse work. Maryland's log names the filer as CB Manufacturing, Inc., dba Pepsi Beverages, effective November 13, and pay and benefits run through that date. PepsiCo says sales and delivery carry on. Our tracker doesn't hold this filing.
Previous rounds
PepsiCo layoff history
A PepsiCo layoff can come out of a bottling line, a warehouse, a Quaker plant or an office in Purchase, and the company named on the notice isn't always PepsiCo. PepsiCo has 28 all-time filings in our tracker, and 9 filings covering 1,490 jobs since the start of 2025. Top of that window sits a November 4, 2025 Orlando filing for 454 jobs, which came out of the Frito-Lay closures there, where PepsiCo shut two facilities, and the snack plants have their own page. The drinks side is where patterns show, in two shapes with very different terms.
The abrupt version came first in Chicago. Early on October 28, 2024, workers at the 51st Street bottling plant arrived to find it closing and were sent home, told pay and benefits would run until December 28 whether or not they worked. There's no gentle way to find that out at the start of a shift. PepsiCo told the AP that Cincinnati, Harrisburg and Atlanta lost bottling jobs in the same round, and the AP reported 60 days of pay and benefits for affected workers, most of whom didn't have to work it. Cheverly followed the same arithmetic in September 2026. Maryland's log shows a September 14 notice for 143 jobs, effective November 13, sixty days on, and PepsiCo filed with the state the same day it told workers.
The federal yardstick is 60 days. The Labor Department's guide says covered workers are owed written warning that far ahead of a mass layoff or plant closing, and someone shorted may be able to seek back pay and benefits for as many as 60 days, scaled to the notice that arrived. Teamsters Local 727 sued PepsiCo Beverages North America over Chicago, alleging the payments left out overtime, premium pay, holiday pay and other benefits, and PepsiCo said its plans met applicable legal requirements. Nothing in the reporting we track gives the suit's outcome. If overtime or premium pay was a regular part of your check, ask an employment lawyer whether your payout counted it.
Warehouses have gone the other way. A July 14, 2026 notice gave the 184 warehouse workers at Pepsi Beverages' Tulsa plant a November 15 end date while production stays put and the work shifts to a new Tulsa-area site. In August PepsiCo Beverages Sales LLC listed 105 permanent layoffs in Columbia, South Carolina, last day October 18, as it changed how warehouse logistics are handled there, with the building staying open. Both times the company spoke of continued pay and benefits scaled to years of service and help applying to the new logistics provider.
The employer's name shifts by site. Maryland logged Cheverly under CB Manufacturing, Inc., dba Pepsi Beverages, though local reporting calls it the Pepsi Bottling Group facility, and Danville's 2024 closure letter came from Quaker Manufacturing LLC, shutting a PepsiCo-owned Quaker Oats plant with about 510 jobs. PepsiCo also relies on independent bottlers alongside the bottling businesses it owns, and if one of those employed you, this history isn't about your employer.
On December 7, 2025, PepsiCo's chief people officer told workers that structural changes would affect some roles, and staff in offices in Purchase, Chicago and Plano were told to work remotely that week. The next day PepsiCo announced priorities backed by Elliott Investment Management. That office round has no headcount and no terms on record. The 2019 Productivity Plan, widened in 2024 and stretched to 2030, puts expected pre-tax charges near $6.15 billion, roughly half for severance and other costs tied to employees. Through June 13, 2026 it had booked $3,792 million, $1,840 million of it in severance and other employee costs. PepsiCo said it intended to update investors on its North America supply chain in late 2026. Keep your notice, your last pay stub and your employer's exact name together, and look your site up in our WARN filings tracker.
Reporting on previous PepsiCo layoff rounds
September 2026, the Cheverly, Maryland bottling plant · All 143 plant jobs, 98 of them represented by Teamsters Local 639, under a September 14 notice effective November 13 that our tracker doesn't hold.
Pay and benefits through November 13, with workers told the same day as the state.
August 2026, warehouse logistics in Columbia, South Carolina · 105 jobs at PepsiCo Beverages Sales LLC, last day October 18, as warehouse logistics went to a new provider and the site stayed open.
Continued pay and benefits scaled to years of service, and help applying with the incoming logistics provider, per PepsiCo Beverages U.S.
July 2026, the Tulsa, Oklahoma warehouse · A July 14 notice covering 184 warehouse jobs at Pepsi Beverages' Tulsa plant, ending November 15 as the work moves to a nearby site. Production continues.
Tenure-scaled pay and benefits, help with the new provider, and placement efforts at the Tulsa site or nearby, per the company and its filing.
December 2025, North America offices · No headcount on record. A December 7 message said structural changes would affect some roles, and staff in Purchase, Chicago and Plano were told to work remotely that week, per Bloomberg.
October 2024, four bottling plants · Chicago closed outright with 131 jobs, and Cincinnati lost 136, Harrisburg 127 and Atlanta fewer than 50 while keeping sales, delivery and warehouse work.
60 days of pay and benefits, mostly without work required, per the AP. Chicago's union sued, alleging the payments left out overtime and holiday pay.
June 2024, the Quaker Oats plant in Danville, Illinois · About 510 jobs as Quaker Manufacturing LLC closed the whole Voorhees Street plant under a letter citing the Illinois and federal WARN Acts.
What to do after being laid off from PepsiCo
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. PepsiCo's biggest hubs: Illinois, Texas, Maryland, California. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what PepsiCo's hub states run: Illinois, Texas, Maryland, California, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
PepsiCo layoff and severance questions
Is PepsiCo laying off workers in 2026?
PepsiCo has filed WARN notices in 2026. Our tracker holds 4 filings covering 418 jobs in 2026, across four states, though it carries the July Tulsa notice without a job count, leaving those 184 warehouse jobs out of the 418. The September notice for 143 jobs at Cheverly, Maryland isn't in the tracker at all. Frito-Lay's snack sites have a page of their own.
Does PepsiCo pay severance when it closes a plant?
It has varied by site, and no single schedule or per-worker severance amount is on record. The AP reported 60 days of pay and benefits for the 2024 bottling closures, Cheverly workers keep pay and benefits through November 13, 2026, and the Tulsa and Columbia handoffs came with pay continuation scaled to years of service. No earlier site's package carries over to the next one, so weigh the figure in your own separation offer before you sign.
Do Pepsi bottling plant workers work for PepsiCo?
Some do. PepsiCo runs many company-owned bottling businesses and also relies on a network of independent bottlers, so the logo on the truck doesn't settle who employs you. Even PepsiCo's own units file under different names, like the CB Manufacturing, Inc., dba Pepsi Beverages entry in Maryland's log for Cheverly. Keep the exact employer name from your notice handy when you file for unemployment, list the employer the way the state asks, and give that name to any lawyer.
What happens if PepsiCo offers me a job at another site after a layoff notice?
Get it in writing, with the location and the pay. PepsiCo's Tulsa filing said it was working to place warehouse workers at the site or nearby facilities. Federal WARN's transfer rules can decide whether turning an offer down still counts as losing your job, depending on details like the commuting distance, why the offer came and whether it came before the closing. Compare the written offer with the Labor Department's guide or an employment lawyer before you decide.
Is PepsiCo closing more plants?
Nothing in the reporting we track points to a next site. In December 2025 PepsiCo said its North American food business had closed three manufacturing plants that year and was cutting nearly 20 percent of U.S. SKUs, and it said it intended to update investors on its North America supply chain and go-to-market plans in late 2026. Our WARN filings tracker collects the notices states publish.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from PepsiCo?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. PepsiCo's biggest U.S. hubs are Illinois, Texas, Maryland, California. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at PepsiCo?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at PepsiCo?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from PepsiCo?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.