After more than a century in California, mozzarella giant Leprino Foods is closing two plants and moving $870 million in production to Texas as rising costs and regulations crush profitability, leaving 600 workers, local dairy farmers, and an entire regional economy reeling with shock and uncertainty.

California’s grip on one of its quiet manufacturing giants is slipping, as Leprino Foods — the world’s largest producer of mozzarella cheese — confirms it will shut down two major California plants and shift production to a massive new $870 million facility in Texas, ending more than a century of continuous operations in the Golden State.

The decision, announced this week to employees and local officials, will directly impact more than 600 workers across California’s Central Valley, sending shockwaves through dairy communities that have supplied the company for generations.

Leprino Foods, founded in Denver in 1950 but deeply rooted in California’s dairy heartland since the early 20th century, built its empire by mastering one product: mozzarella.

From family-owned pizzerias to global fast-food chains, Leprino cheese quietly sits atop millions of pizzas consumed every day.

Industry analysts estimate the company controls a dominant share of the U.S.

mozzarella market, with its supply chain so integrated that a disruption in Leprino production can ripple across national food distribution within days.

The two California plants slated for closure — long considered pillars of regional employment — have faced rising operational pressures in recent years.

According to internal briefings shared with employees, escalating labor costs, tightening environmental regulations, water usage restrictions, and energy prices have steadily eroded margins.

While California officials have emphasized sustainability and worker protections, Leprino executives privately acknowledged that “the math simply stopped working.”

In contrast, the new Texas facility — located near key dairy corridors and major freight routes — promises lower operating costs, expanded automation, and proximity to rapidly growing consumer markets in the South and Midwest.

The $870 million investment includes advanced processing technology, energy-efficient systems, and expanded capacity designed to future-proof production for decades.

“This plant represents the next chapter of American dairy manufacturing,” one executive told workers during a closed-door meeting.

“But it cannot be built under California’s current cost structure.”

For California employees, the announcement landed with blunt finality.

Workers were informed that severance packages and limited relocation opportunities would be offered, but many acknowledged relocation is unrealistic.

“My family’s been here three generations,” said one production supervisor who requested anonymity.

“You don’t just pick up and move your life because a balance sheet changed.”

The impact extends beyond factory walls.

Dairy farmers across the Central Valley — already struggling with drought cycles, feed inflation, and land-use pressures — now face uncertainty over where their milk will go.

Leprino’s plants absorbed enormous daily volumes, and while alternative buyers exist, none match the scale or consistency Leprino provided.

“This isn’t just a plant closing,” said a local dairy cooperative manager.

“It’s a hole punched through the entire agricultural ecosystem.”

Economists note that Leprino’s exit fits a broader pattern.

Over the past decade, manufacturing firms in food processing, logistics, and consumer goods have increasingly shifted investments away from California toward states offering lower regulatory burdens and predictable cost structures.

Unlike tech companies that can operate remotely, food manufacturing depends on tight margins, heavy energy use, and physical infrastructure — areas where California has become one of the most expensive states in the country.

State officials, caught off guard by the scale of the departure, expressed concern but stopped short of acknowledging structural issues.

Privately, however, regional economic planners worry the loss will hollow out tax bases, accelerate job losses in secondary industries, and weaken California’s long-standing dominance in agricultural processing.

Nationally, the move raises questions about the resilience of America’s food supply chain.

With mozzarella serving as a backbone ingredient for pizza, prepared foods, and frozen meals, consolidating production into fewer mega-facilities increases efficiency — but also risk.

Weather events, logistics disruptions, or labor shortages in a single state could now have outsized consequences.

For Leprino Foods, the decision is framed as evolution rather than retreat.

For California, it feels like another quiet surrender — not marked by a press conference or political speech, but by locked factory gates and moving trucks rolling east.

As one longtime worker put it, staring at the plant he helped run for decades, “They didn’t leave because we stopped working hard.

They left because staying became impossible.”