Posted on 12/21/2025 4:11:48 AM PST by DFG
The world's largest producer of mozzarella is closing one of its dairy plants in California due to the state's sky high operating costs.
Leprino Foods, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, supplies cheese for fast-food pizza restaurants, including Domino's, Pizza Hut and Papa John's.
For the last 115 years, the plant has operated in Lemoore, a small town deep within California's rural Central Valley.
But now more than a century of history is coming to a close, with an estimated 300 people set to lose their jobs when the plan shutters early next year.
To give people time to find new employment, Leprino announced the closure in November of last year.
'This decision is influenced by several factors, including the facility's age, anticipated capital requirements to make improvements to the facility and add or replace equipment and systems, high operating costs in California, the long-term milk supply outlook, and the increased capacity due to the opening of our Lubbock, Texas facility,' according to a statement from the company at the time.
One major factor likely driving the move is that California has a high corporate tax rate, while Texas's equivalent franchise tax is much less burdensome.
Additionally, California imposes higher payroll tax obligations on companies for things like unemployment insurance and disability insurance.
Another advantage Texas has is cheap land. Agricultural land in Texas is six times cheaper per acre on average than in California, based on data from the USDA and the Texas Farm Bureau.
The 850,000-square-foot Lubbock facility Leprino Foods opened in January 2025 currently supports a staff of 300 full-time workers, the same as the Lemoore plant.
Though by next year, the Texas location is expected to have doubled the size of its workforce, Forbes reported over the summer.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
If Democrats get in power again, this self destruction happening to California will happen to the USA. As we witnessed during the Auto-pen administration, except this time it will be on steroids.
“To give people time to find new employment, Leprino announced the closure in November of last year.”
…I would think that a majority would leave CA for a new job.
Leprino Foods Company – California (Lemoore West)
500,000 sq. ft. facility, shown here during construction, is one of the world’s largest cheese plants. The space includes:
Addition to existing dryer and evaporator facility.
Over 200,000 sq. ft. of high-quality process rooms finished with acid brick floors, tiled concrete walls, and a suspended ceiling.
A second level Utilidor, which has all electrical and utility piping above the processing areas.
Over 90,000 sq. ft. of Cold Storage space including a freezer capable of maintaining temperatures at minus 10 F°.
Dryer and Evaporator Towers reaching heights over 120 ft.
30,000 sq. ft of Regional Office and Quality Control labs.
Is this the “Low Fat Low Moisture” Mozz as seen in stores? That stuff should be unlawful.
I’m no foodie snob, far from it, but goldang but Pizza has to have genuine Mozzarella, not some vulcanized synthetic rubber product derived from the Tire industry.
There's a Leprino plant here in northern Colorado.
After 5 years, I was part of a mass exodus from Home Depot. Management issues.
About half went to Leprino, the other half to Vestas (windmills). I went back to Domino's.
The exodus out of California has been going on for years and shows no signs of letting up.
When the two refineries shut down, the pace will accelerate.
Diesel drives the price of products especially raw materials.
Finally all these folks will be able to spend more quality time with their families and children instead of slaving away for some greedy business owner hell bent on making a profit.
Just wait until the company and its employees receive Texas-sized property tax bills.
You jumped to an irrational conclusion
Another unemployment win for socialist democrats that have no concept of wht it takes to run a business or economics.
California has a high corporate tax rate
Tax until the bleeding stops
Unless it has changed recently, I understand that Commiefornia has a program in place that will eventually forbid any fossil fuel trucks inside the state that load/unload at the shipping ports - all must be electric. In the meantime CA is requiring fossil fuel trucks be no older than a few years ago effectively cutting out many private owner/operators with rigs they have been driving for years.
California is a beautiful place geographically speaking - a great place to visit, no place to live.
Data centers to new industrial complexes will become empty warehouses if the “progressives” gain the levers of power
and another one bites the dust, bites the dust ...
Great. More productive businesses leaving California - along with two refineries closing down b/c of California’s hostile business climate.
“At one time California was home to over 40 operating refineries. However, due to high operating and regulatory compliance costs, a harsh political environment, conversions to bio and renewable fuels, and Governor Newsom’s 2020 directive banning the sale of new internal combustion vehicles in the state, the number of refiners has declined by 84% from 43 in 1982 to just seven survivors in 2026.”
Yep. I have generational family there in California. The old ones 70+ will never leave. They have been there too long.
The next generation, 50+ might leave, but that is their home where they grew up and they have good memories. The next generation 30+ is leaving. Most of my cousins kids have moved to Montana and Idaho. They are not typical Cali types. Very conservative kids. They don’t want to raise kids in a bad environment.
Without looking, I bet that Lubbock County officials provided Leprino with a 10+ years abatement on property taxes, and another property tax abatement based on job creation.
You bring in 400, 600, 800 or 1000 well paying jobs and keep them here for so many years, they would lower taxes again. And if i were a county official, you bet that I would have made the same deal.
Now the employees and the executives? Yeah sock the employees with taxes on the homes that they will now buy or the apartments that they fill.
The executives? Going from a small home in CA to a couple of acres on the Panhandle, probably in a brand new gated community. Plenty of taxes on the new home.
Look to the Toyota Relocation project in N Texas for an example.
And who knows? Maybe enough extra cash to pad a few political campaigns along the way.
bkmk
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