All 251 workers at the Buitoni plant in Danville, Virginia, will be separated on Dec. 28, according to a notice the company sent to Danville Mayor Jones, as reported by WDBJ. Buitoni USA will “permanently close its facility located at 201 Airside Drive in Danville, Virginia on or about December 28, 2026,” the notice says.
The notice adds that no one can bump into another job at the site. “There will not be any bumping rights for the affected employees,” it states, because all positions at the facility are being eliminated. Workers are being told of their separation dates individually or through their union representative.
With 251 paychecks ending a few days before New Year’s, the question for each household is how to cover the stretch between the last check and the next one. The city has already started on part of the answer, with an on-site job fair planned and a regional event set for Nov. 5.
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Who works at the plant, and what do they do?
Workers at the 240,000-square-foot plant are represented by United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, Local 9555, according to Virginia Business. A union spokesperson did not respond to the magazine’s request for comment. The affected positions include equipment and production sanitation unit technicians, loaders, mechanics and filling mixer operators.
The plant opened in the late 1980s. Buitoni makes refrigerated pasta, sauces and cheese, and a 2020 release said the Danville plant would also continue to make Nestle Toll House cookie dough. No reason for the closing has been given.
How did the plant get from Nestle to a Massachusetts company?
Nestle S.A. bought Buitoni in 1988 for $1.27 billion, according to The New York Times as cited in the report. In 2020, Connecticut private equity firm Brynwood Partners created Buitoni Food Co. to buy the North American business from Nestle USA, and the new company then had 525 full-time employees. In 2024, Joseph Faro’s Massachusetts-based The Artisan Chef Manufacturing acquired Buitoni Food Co.
The brand began in 1827, when Giulia and Giovanni Battista Buitoni opened a pasta shop in Sansepolcro, Italy. The family sold the company to Italian businessman Carlo de Benedetti in 1985, and he sold it to Nestle three years later. The Danville plant opened in the late 1980s, in that same stretch of years.
The 2024 buyer has a history with the brand. Faro sold his Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta business to Buitoni in 2006, eighteen years before his company bought Buitoni Food Co. outright.
What is Danville doing for the 251 families?
Danville officials confirmed the closing to WSLS on Thursday, and the station says it will update the story as more is learned. City Manager Ken Larking said Danville began working with Buitoni officials as soon as it heard of the closing to connect employees with local openings. “Fortunately, the diverse local economy we’ve built offers a range of employment options,” he said, and “We know this is a difficult and uncertain time.” Buitoni’s leadership plans an on-site job fair, he said.
Danville Community College’s All Citizens Job and Resource Fair runs Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Danville Community Market. Larking said the event “has helped people find jobs and build skills for the next step in their careers.”
Where do laid-off Virginia workers file for help?
The Virginia Employment Commission’s WARN page points laid-off workers to its Rapid Response program, information on how to apply for unemployment benefits and an online portal for claims. People who need to talk to someone can reach the VEC call center at 866-832-2363 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Which benefits apply to each worker depends on the claim. Neither the notice nor the reporting on it describes severance or benefit continuation for the 251 employees.
What does a Dec. 28 last paycheck do to a Danville household’s January?
A plant paycheck that ends on Dec. 28 leaves a household facing January with its regular bills and no regular pay. The Virginia Employment Commission handles the unemployment claim. What else in the budget can be trimmed is a separate job, and the sooner it is done the less savings have to carry.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
