Jelly Belly brand leaving Chicago

Wow, thanks Pat Quinn!He is running an ad right now saying that he has made tough choices, and created jobs. Illinois is at the bottom of the List for almost everything. Scott Walker Made tough Choices and it shows. Pat Quinn Said Scott Walker was wrong. I think by the numbers Pat Quinn Failed!

Jelly Belly brand jelly beans will soon no longer be made at the North Chicago factory where they've been produced since 1978.

The company said Monday that 70 jobs will be eliminated as it moves production of all Jelly Belly brand candy products to its headquarters in Fairfield, Calif. The factory will now produce private label food products, which it said “have reported double digit growth in recent years.” It will also do contract manufacturing.

Jelly Belly Candy Co., formerly known in North Chicago as Goelitz Confectionary Company, got its start with candy corn and has been making candy at the Illinois plant since 1913. The company is now headquartered in California and managed by fourth, fifth and sixth generations of the Goelitz family.

The Jelly Belly factory in North Chicago produced and shipped Jelly Belly jelly beans, Chocolate Malt Balls and the company’s legacy candy, candy corn.

The Jelly Belly was first created in 1976 and made here in 1978. The company changed its name to reflect the booming brand in 2001. The brand became wildly popular in part because former President Ronald Reagan was a big fan of the colorful beans, which were shipped directly to him from the Goelitz family for eight years of his presidency.

“Eliminating positions is a difficult decision to make,” Jelly Belly President Bob Simpson said in a statement. “This move to private label manufacturing is a forward thinking step for the best deployment of the Illinois facility and the company overall.”

The company said Monday that workers will receive outplacement services and will have the opportunity to transfer to other locations within the company.

The candy industry has deep roots in Chicago, although high costs have driven some companies out of the area to other parts of the country or overseas.

In May, Wrigley announced plans to start making Skittles in Yorkville, expanding its plant there and adding 75 full-time manufacturing jobs.

Private chocolate company Blommer Chocolate Co. – which processes almost half of all the cocoa beans in the United States - has a factory on West Kinzie Street. Tootsie Roll Industries is also based in Chicago.

Ferrara Candy, the maker of Lemonhead other candy, has maintained a presence in Illinois since its 2012 merger with Catterton Partners’ Minnesota-based Farley’s & Sathers Candy Co.

The news of the Jelly Belly layoffs was first revealed in a monthly report filed with the state on Monday.

Employers including Jelly Belly, Kraft Foods Group Inc. and Comcast are among nine Illinois companies to give notice this month of impending layoffs affecting 738 workers.

Kraft notified the state that 56 truck drivers in Champaign will lose their jobs before October as it discontinues its private trucking fleet.

Intuit, Inc. said a support center in Arlington Heights will close, according ot to the filing, affecting 104 workers. Jacobson Warehouse Company Inc. in East Moline said it will close a facility, eliminating 137 workers and Comcast said it will close an office in Romeoville, a move that it expects will affect 112 workers.

Employers with more than 100 employees are required to give 60 days' notice of possible layoffs under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act when a third of the workforce or more than 500 workers could be affected.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-illinois-layoffs-20140811-story.html