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Ferrara Candy files notice to close a Chicago site

Ferrara Candy files notice to close a Chicago site

Money Moves Chicago, IL local

The WARN filing covers 154 employees at 2945 W 31st St and starts a 60-day clock. It is a statement of intent, not a record that the jobs have ended.

Yesterday: Ferrara files Chicago WARN notice

Overview

Updated 44 minutes ago

Ferrara Candy Company notified Illinois on Nov. 9 that it intends to close its site at 2945 W 31st St in Chicago and end 154 jobs there. The filing is a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice, the 60-day advance warning federal law requires before a mass layoff or plant closing.

Ferrara has been a Chicago company since an immigrant family sold sweets from a Little Italy bakery more than a century ago, and its headquarters sits in the city's Old Post Office. The 31st Street filing is its second job-cut notice in nine months. In February, Ferrara told Fairfield, California, it would close Jelly Belly's corporate offices there; that notice covered 69 jobs and the factory stayed open.

Why it matters

A WARN filing is the earliest public warning of a mass layoff. This one puts 154 Chicago jobs on a 60-day clock that runs into January.

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Key Indicators

154
Jobs covered by the notice
Employees Ferrara lists as affected at 2945 W 31st St in its Illinois WARN filing.
60
Days of advance notice required
The federal WARN Act window between an employer's filing and a mass layoff or closing.
69
Jobs in Ferrara's February 2026 California notice
Jelly Belly corporate-commercial positions cut in Fairfield; the factory stayed open.

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Organizations Involved

FC
Ferrara Candy Company
Confectionery manufacturer
Employer named in the Nov. 9, 2026 WARN filing

Chicago-based candy maker and subsidiary of Italy's Ferrero Group.
Ferrero Group
Ferrero Group
Parent company
Owns Ferrara Candy Company

Italian confectioner behind Nutella, Ferrero Rocher and Tic Tac, and Ferrara's corporate parent.
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
State government agency
Publishes the WARN notice list

Illinois agency that posts employer WARN filings for the state.
JB
Jelly Belly Candy Company
Confectionery manufacturer
Ferrara subsidiary; corporate offices cut in 2026

Gourmet jelly bean maker acquired by Ferrara in 2023.

Timeline

2012 November 2026

5 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Ferrara files Chicago WARN notice

    Latest Layoff Notice

    The filing reports 154 affected employees at 2945 W 31st St in Chicago.

  2. Ferrara files Fairfield notice for 69 jobs

    Layoff Notice

    A WARN notice closes Jelly Belly's corporate-commercial offices in Fairfield, California; the factory stays open.

  3. Ferrara acquires Jelly Belly

    Corporate

    Ferrara completes the purchase of the Fairfield, California, jelly bean maker.

  4. Ferrero buys Ferrara

    Corporate

    The Italian confectioner completes its purchase of Ferrara Candy Company.

  5. Ferrara Pan and Farley's & Sathers merge

    Corporate

    The Forest Park, Illinois, candy maker combines with Minnesota-based Farley's & Sathers under the Ferrara name.

Scenarios

1

Ferrara closes the 31st Street site on schedule

Likely Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: The WARN filing itself and the Illinois DCEO notice list

The notice starts a 60-day clock that runs to about Jan. 8, 2027. Unless Ferrara amends or withdraws the filing, the site stops operating and all 154 positions end. The WARN entry does not describe what the site does or whether any of the work moves elsewhere.

2

Notice rescinded or scaled back before the clock runs out

Unlikely Resolves by Jan 8, 2027

Discussed by: Illinois DCEO filing record

WARN notices are sometimes amended when a contract is renewed or a closure is postponed. Ferrara could extend the timeline or cut fewer than 154 jobs. Nothing in the current record points to that; the filing stands as written.

3

More Illinois job-cut notices follow

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Pattern across Ferrara's 2026 filings

Ferrara has filed job-cut notices at two sites in nine months, and its growth since 2012 has come from absorbing other companies' brands and facilities. A third Illinois notice, or a reduction in downtown office staff, would fit that pattern. No filing or statement points to one yet.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

February 2026

Jelly Belly office closure in Fairfield, California (2026)

Ferrara, which bought Jelly Belly in 2023, sent a WARN notice to Fairfield's mayor on Feb. 20 saying it would close Jelly Belly's corporate-commercial operations at four addresses near the factory. The notice covered 69 of the 374 jobs at the Fairfield facilities, including web developers, customer service representatives and accountants. Layoffs were set to begin June 1 and run into January 2027.

Then

The factory, warehouse, retail store and visitor center stayed open. Fairfield's city manager wrote that the reductions were expected from the acquisition.

Now

The filing showed how Ferrara handles an acquisition: back-office functions go, production stays.

Why this matters now

The Chicago filing takes the same form nine months later: a WARN notice, one address, a headcount.

2018

Ferrero buys Nestlé's US candy business (2018)

Ferrero paid $2.8 billion for Nestlé's US candy brands and handed most of them to Ferrara to make and sell. The deal added Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, Crunch, Raisinets and Laffy Taffy to a portfolio that already held Brach's, Lemonheads and Trolli.

Then

Ferrara's brand count grew sharply and it took over US distribution for the former Nestlé lines.

Now

The purchase made Ferrara the holder of a large share of the US candy aisle's legacy brands, many of them inherited from other companies.

Why this matters now

It explains why Ferrara's footprint is a collection of acquired sites rather than a single planned network, which is the setting for a 154-job notice in Chicago.

2012

Ferrara Pan and Farley's & Sathers merge (2012)

Ferrara Pan Candy, a Forest Park, Illinois, maker of Lemonheads and Red Hots, combined with Minnesota-based Farley's & Sathers, owner of Brach's and Now and Later. The merged company took the Ferrara name; its headquarters is now in Chicago's Old Post Office.

Then

The combination created the platform Ferrero bought five years later.

Now

Each later expansion, from Nestlé's US brands to Jelly Belly, added brands and sites rather than replacing them.

Why this matters now

The company filing the Chicago notice is an assembly of other companies' factories and offices.

Sources

(4)
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity TheStreet / Yahoo Finance Wikipedia Ferrara Candy Company