Ferrara Candy plans to close its manufacturing plant in Little Village, laying off 154 workers at the facility located at 2945 W. 31st St. The closure marks another contraction for the Chicago-based candy giant, which has shuttered plants in other states in recent years even as it has grown through acquisitions.
The layoffs were reported by Crain's Chicago Business, which confirmed that Ferrara will shut its Little Village plant and cut the 154 positions there.
A Pattern of Plant Closures Across Ferrara's Footprint
This is not the first time Ferrara has pulled production out of a facility. In July 2024, the company announced it would close its Jelly Belly manufacturing plant in North Chicago, a move that resulted in 66 layoffs, according to the Chicago Tribune. That plant closed around October 11, 2024, the Tribune reported, and Ferrara said at the time that displaced Jelly Belly workers were being offered transfers to jobs at the company's five other Chicago-area manufacturing facilities.
Ferrara had agreed to acquire Jelly Belly, a family-owned candy maker founded in Illinois in 1869, in October 2023, with financial terms undisclosed, according to the Chicago Tribune. The North Chicago closure came less than a year after that agreement, underscoring how quickly Ferrara has moved to consolidate operations even as it absorbs new brands into its portfolio.
Minnesota Closure Followed a Factory Fire
Ferrara's history of shuttering plants extends beyond Illinois. The company previously closed a facility in Winona, Minnesota, leaving 124 employees out of work at the end of April, according to Food Manufacturing. That closure followed a fire that had damaged candy-making machinery at the Minnesota plant the previous month, and Ferrara said it planned to shift production to another facility in Bellwood, Illinois.
Notably, Ferrara's relationship with the Chicago area has not always meant job losses. In March 2015, the company said a planned expansion in the Chicago area should create more than 100 jobs within 18 months, the Chicago Tribune reported.
What Illinois Law Requires for Mass Layoffs
Illinois law generally requires advance notice when employers plan significant layoffs. Under the state's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, employers with 75 or more full-time employees must give workers and state and local government officials 60 days' advance notice of a covered plant closing or mass layoff, according to the Illinois Department of Labor. It is not yet known whether or when any such notice was filed in connection with the Little Village closure.
Details remain limited on the timeline for the Little Village shutdown, including when the plant will close and when the 154 layoffs will take effect. Hoodline will continue to follow developments as Ferrara's plans for the Little Village facility become clearer.
