Buitoni, the pasta brand and company once fully owned by Nestlé, is closing a factory in the US, with more than 200 jobs expected to be lost.

The site in Danville, Virginia, is earmarked for closure “on or about” 28 December, according to a local WARN notice filed by Buitoni last week.

Some 251 staff at the Danville plant have been notified of the intention to shutter the factory and all will see their employment terminated.

The WARN document was signed off by Buitoni USA CEO Joe Faro. It added that workers will have no so-called ‘bumping rights’ across a range of affected positions including production, warehousing, quality control and administration.

Buitoni said the United Steel Workers (USW) union has been informed.

No reasons for the planned site closure were revealed in the notice.

Nestlé sold its Buitoni pasta brand in North America in 2020 to private-equity firm Brynwood Partners, with The Wall Street Journal putting a price tag on the deal of $115m at the time.

Buitoni Food Company emerged from the Brynwood transaction with the 240,000 square-foot manufacturing plant at Danville and the rights to the brand in the US, Canada and the Caribbean. The company employed some 525 staff at Danville at the time of the transaction.

The Swiss food and drinks giant still owns the Buitoni pizza business in Europe.

Brynwood then sold the Buitoni line in North America to the Artisan Chef Manufacturing Company in 2024, which is owned and run by Faro.

Artisan Chef Manufacturing Company sits alongside another Faro business and restaurant operator, Tuscan Brands.

Producing breads, pasta, sauces, pizza and prepared meals, Artisan Chef Manufacturing Company supplies the retail and foodservice channels from its base in Massachusetts under the Tuscan Kitchen brand.

Just Food has contacted Artisan Chef Manufacturing Company to establish the reasons for the plant closure in Danville.