Beverage manufacturers across the U.S. have been reworking production networks as operating costs and customer demand patterns shift. In southwest Ohio, that is now playing out at Refresco Beverages’ Carlisle site near Dayton, where the company has ended manufacturing and is cutting dozens of jobs while keeping the property open in a different role. The change means the plant at 300 Industry Drive will no longer produce beverages, even though the facility itself is no longer slated for a full shutdown.
Refresco revised the scale of the job cuts at Carlisle
Refresco Beverages US Inc. has reduced the number of expected job losses at its Carlisle facility to 44, according to a revised WARN notice reported in August and tied to the company’s operational shift at 300 Industry Drive. The updated plan replaced an earlier notice that projected roughly 63 affected workers if the plant closed entirely. The official change matters because Carlisle is no longer headed for a full permanent shutdown, even though beverage production there has ended.
The company’s first WARN letter to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services was dated April 14, 2026. In that filing, Refresco said it would discontinue manufacturing operations at the Carlisle plant on or about June 24, 2026, and expected warehousing to conclude on or about July 11, 2026, with the facility then closing permanently. The filing described the notice as a plant-closing notice under federal WARN and Ohio law.
A later company letter received by the state on July 14, 2026, and described by trade publication FreshlyBottled, said Refresco had changed course. Instead of shutting the property, the company said the Carlisle site would transition into a distribution center for warehousing, storage, and shipment. That revision lowered the expected employment impact, but it did not reverse the end of beverage manufacturing at the site.
What the change means in Carlisle and Warren County
The confirmed location is Refresco’s facility at 300 Industry Drive in Carlisle, Ohio 45005, in Warren County near Dayton. The plant had handled both beverage manufacturing and downstream logistics, including warehousing and distribution, before the restructuring. Refresco’s earlier state filing also said employees at the facility were not represented by a union and did not have bumping rights.
What is confirmed is that manufacturing work at Carlisle ended on or about June 24, 2026, per the April WARN filing, and that the site is being retained for distribution functions under the revised plan described in the July 14 update. What is not publicly clear is the full list of individual employees who will remain at the site or the exact staffing structure for the repurposed operation. The company has not released a comprehensive public roster of retained positions at the Ohio facility.
The earlier WARN filing included a schedule of affected job categories that spanned production, quality, maintenance, warehouse, and supervisory roles. Those titles included machine operators, maintenance technicians, forklift operators, quality technicians, and warehouse staff, showing that the impact reaches beyond a single department. Seven employees were offered positions at other Refresco locations under the original closure plan, according to the April filing, but the company has not publicly detailed how many accepted those transfers.
Refresco tied the move to customer needs and operating costs
Refresco said in its April 14 WARN notice that the decision followed an extensive review of its manufacturing operations and network. The company stated that ceasing production in Carlisle was driven by the needs of its customers as well as high operating costs. That makes the Carlisle change a network and cost decision, not a food-safety event or product recall.
The practical result for Ohio residents is narrower than a full plant closure but still significant for the local workforce. Customers should not expect the Carlisle property to disappear entirely, because the revised plan keeps the building in use as a warehousing and shipping center. What changes is the site’s function: it is no longer making beverages there, and dozens of manufacturing-related jobs are being eliminated as a result.
For Carlisle and the surrounding area, the latest confirmed position is that Refresco has preserved some activity at the site while reducing headcount from the original closure scenario. The company’s prior filing said affected workers would be offered severance packages, on-site job fairs, and resume assistance tied to their separations. As of the revised plan, the forward-looking fact is that Carlisle remains part of Refresco’s network, but as a distribution operation rather than a beverage manufacturing plant.