Jelly Belly to lay off positions in Fairfield. Tours, manufacturing remain open
Jelly Belly operations in Fairfield will be laying off 69 employees, starting in June, according to a WARN notice sent to Fairfield City Council on Feb. 20.
The company will cease “its Fairfield corporate-commercial operations” according to the notice. But the layoffs will not affect non-union roles within manufacturing, warehousing or in the visitor center, Sukrat Baber, the assistant general counsel for Ferrara Candy Company, wrote in the WARN Notice.
The plant’s layoffs will hit Jelly Belly’s facilities at One Jelly Belly Lane, 2400 N. Watney Way, 2500 N. Watney Way and 2385 N. Watney Way in Fairfield, the WARN Notice said.
There are currently 374 employees at the Fairfield plant. The layoffs will cut roles in accounting, sales, marketing and purchasing. The WARN Notice stated layoffs will be in “subsequent sequences” in the summer and the first two weeks in each month until Jan, 14, 2027.
Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy wrote on her Facebook page, where she also shared the WARN Notice, that the city will work with the Workforce Development Board to help those affected with retraining and job hunting.
Moy said the candy company will remain open and “continue making candy, warehousing and offering tours.”
This news comes after shut down its Fairfield plant in early February. Having spent 49 years in Fairfield, Anheuser-Busch estimated that between 200 to 250 people would be laid off. The Budweiser plant was considered one of Fairfield’s largest employers and water customers, according to past Bee reporting.
In her post, Moy wrote that the city of Fairfield is seeing other companies interested in purchasing the Budweiser plant.
“Some good news: We have seen healthy interest in companies considering to buying the Budweiser plant,” Moy said in the Facebook post.
