America’s candy industry is facing a difficult balancing act as manufacturers contend with changing consumer demand, higher costs, and the need to modernize production.
Even some of the country’s best-known candy brands are not immune to the changes.
Ferrara Candy Company, the maker of Nerds, SweeTARTS, Laffy Taffy, Brach’s and Jelly Belly, is preparing to permanently close another manufacturing facility, affecting more than 150 employees.
The decision follows previous factory closures and job reductions at the Chicago-based candy giant, even as it moves forward with a major manufacturing expansion in another state.
Ferrara Candy announces permanent factory closure and layoffs
Ferrara plans to permanently close its manufacturing facility at 2945 W. 31st St. in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood between April 5 and April 18, 2027.
The closure will affect 154 full-time employees, according to a November 5 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice. The company attributed the decision to several years of operating below capacity and plans to transfer production to other facilities to better align manufacturing capacity with demand.
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The first employment losses are scheduled for April 5, with all affected positions expected to be eliminated by April 18.
The cuts cover numerous manufacturing and operational roles, including 64 machine operator positions, 20 general labor positions, 11 sanitation positions, and several maintenance and warehouse jobs. The affected employees are not represented by a union, according to the notice.
Ferrara said eligible employees will receive severance packages. The company has also offered affected workers the opportunity to apply for other positions within Ferrara and its affiliate network, according to Food Dive.
The Chicago facility manufactures Funables Fruity Snacks and Stretch Island Fruit Strips.
For shoppers concerned about their favorite snacks disappearing, Ferrara has confirmed that neither product is being discontinued. Production will move to other facilities, and the company does not expect disruptions to product availability.
Ferrara Candy has announced previous closures and layoffs
The latest decision is part of a broader series of operational changes at Ferrara.
In February 2026, the company announced plans to eliminate 69 corporate and administrative positions at its Jelly Belly operations in Fairfield, California, which Ferrara acquired in 2023.
As TheStreet previously reported, the cuts represented approximately 18.5% of the site’s 374 employees. Those layoffs were scheduled to begin June 1 and continue in phases through January 2027.
The California cuts did not affect Jelly Belly’s manufacturing operations, warehouse or visitor center, which remain open.
Combined with the newly announced Chicago closure, Ferrara’s 2026 workforce reduction announcements now cover 223 positions across Illinois and California, although some of those separations are scheduled for 2027.
The company also closed its Jelly Belly manufacturing plant in North Chicago in October 2024, affecting 66 employees.
At the time, Ferrara said it would shift manufacturing to another facility following a review of production volumes.
Ferrara invests $675 million in new manufacturing facility
While Ferrara is consolidating some existing operations, the candy manufacturer is also investing heavily in expanding production capacity elsewhere.
On April 22, 2026, Ferrara announced a $675 million investment to establish its first manufacturing operation in South Carolina.
The planned 750,000-square-foot facility in Orangeburg County is expected to create approximately 1,000 manufacturing and corporate jobs over the next decade. Production is scheduled to begin during the first quarter of 2029.
Ferrara said the investment will help meet high consumer demand and expand its manufacturing capabilities.
“Our new Orangeburg facility represents a major step forward in transforming Ferrara’s manufacturing scale and capability,” CEO Marco Capurso said in the announcement.
Ferrara’s restructuring comes as candy manufacturers face pressure from changing consumer spending patterns and rising costs.
As TheStreet previously reported, chocolate sales volume declined 8.6% during the four weeks ended September 19, even as prices and product mix increased 9.5%, according to NielsenIQ data cited by Bank of America.
However, Ferrara has attributed its Chicago factory closure specifically to years of underutilized capacity, rather than directly linking the decision to declining industry-wide candy sales.
