Mars Wrigley signaled it will lay off hundreds of workers as it relocates its headquarters from Newark, New Jersey, to an expanded facility in Chicago.
The company on Friday submitted a WARN filing with the state of New Jersey that indicated it will eliminate 307 jobs at its Newark headquarters by mid-October, which will end the company’s presence in the city.
The candymaker, which is a division of Mars Incorporated, has a brand portfolio including M&M’s, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix and Skittles.
The move comes after the company spent $100 million to expand its footprint in Chicago, where its global headquarters is now located.
The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) said the news of another departure of a high-profile company comes as another warning sign that the state needs to improve its business climate.
“On a summer Friday when people should be getting excited about the weekend ahead, we are instead hit with the news of another unfortunate exodus of a job creator in New Jersey,” said NJBIA CEO Michele Siekerka.
“We need to wrap our arms around this and do something now that sends a message to our largest employers that things are going to change so we can stop this disturbing trend,” Siekerka added.
FOX Business reached out to Mars Wrigley for comment.
Mars Wrigley has indicated it will continue to operate its manufacturing facility in Hackettstown, New Jersey, despite shifting corporate operations to Chicago.
Mars Inc. acquired Chicago-based gum-maker Wrigley in 2008 and has grown its presence in the area recently following the acquisition last year of Kellanova, a Chicago-headquartered maker of snack foods like Pringles and Cheez-It that was spun off from Kellogg.
NJBIA noted that New Jersey has lost over 9,700 jobs disclosed through WARN notices this year alone, and it comes against the backdrop of other high-profile corporate departures.
In June, Samsung announced it would relocate its corporate headquarters from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to Texas this year.
Additionally, ExxonMobil shareholders voted to switch the energy giant’s state of incorporation from the Garden State, where it has been domiciled for 144 years when it began as Standard Oil of New Jersey, to Texas.