Mars to Shut Down Nature’s Bakery Facility in Missouri
Mars Inc. will shut down its Hazelwood, Mo., Nature’s Bakery processing plant in September 2027, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed with the state of Missouri on July 7.
The plant will continue to operate through 2026, with the first round of job cuts coming Sept. 11, 2026, impacting 130 employees at that time. On Feb. 26, 2027, another 215 employees will be let go, and all remaining employees will be cut when the plant finally closes in September 2027. Mars said that production from Hazelwood will be transferred to other Nature’s Bakery facilities.
Last July, Nature’s Bakery opened a new baking facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, that spans more than 339,000 sq. ft. and reportedly can produce more than 1 billion snack bars per year. And in December 2025, Mars named Lauren Spear to be the new CEO and general manager of Nature’s Bakery.
Employees will be eligible to pursue other jobs for Nature’s Bakery and other Mars companies, but they do not have bumping rights to displace other employees.
About the Author
Andy Hanacek
Senior Editor
Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.