NEWARK, NJ —
July 29, 2026 |
By DailyHudson Staff
The candy giant’s departure from its Ironside Newark headquarters marks a major blow to the city’s corporate revitalization efforts.
The lunch rush at the corner deli near 110 Edison Place might get a little quieter this fall. That’s when the last of Mars Wrigley’s office workers pack up their desks and head to Chicago, leaving behind 307 empty chairs and a whole lot of questions for a city that bet big on them.
What’s Happening
Mars Wrigley, the company that brought us M&M’s and Skittles, is leaving Newark less than 10 years after opening their sleek new headquarters at Ironside Newark. According to a state WARN notice filed before July 19, the company will lay off 307 employees by the end of October as it consolidates its corporate operations in Chicago.
This isn’t just another corporate move. Mars Wrigley’s roots in Newark run deep—they invented M&M’s here in 1941, one year after setting up a factory on Badget Avenue in Clinton Hill. The company then moved to North 12th Street before opening a factory in Hackettstown in 1958. Their return to Newark in 2017 felt like a homecoming.
How We Got Here
The story of Mars Wrigley in Newark is really the story of how cities try to lure big companies. Back in 2017, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved a 10-year, $31.5 million tax break to bring the company’s international headquarters to Newark and Hackettstown. At the time, the state said the move would create about 483 jobs in Newark and 113 new jobs across New Jersey.
The company became a symbol of Newark’s comeback under Mayor Ras Baraka and former Governor Chris Christie. Their building at 110 Edison Place was the centerpiece of Mulberry Commons, a 22-acre park that replaced acres of parking. The project was supposed to create a pedestrian walkway connecting to Newark Penn Station, though it’s not clear when that will be completed.
What It Means for Hudson County
For the workers at Mars Wrigley, this is deeply personal. “I moved my family here for this job,” one employee told me, asking to remain anonymous. “Now I’m looking at a move to Chicago or starting over.” These are real people—parents packing school lunches, commuters checking their phones on the PATH, neighbors who’ve become part of the community.
But the ripple effects go further. The building at Ironside Newark, a converted 456,000-square-foot train warehouse from 1907, will now have nearly 200,000 square feet of empty office space. That means less foot traffic for nearby businesses, fewer lunch orders, fewer people to fill the streets. The city’s tax base takes a hit too.
What People Are Saying
In a statement, Mars Wrigley said the move is part of a broader consolidation to “bring our corporate teams together in one location.” They thanked Newark for its partnership over the years.
Mayor Baraka’s office has not yet commented on the departure. But the timing is tough. Just this month, Samsung announced it would lay off 739 workers in Englewood Cliffs and Verizon is cutting 282 jobs in Basking Ridge. The state’s WARN notices are piling up like candy wrappers.
What Comes Next
For now, the workers at Mars Wrigley have until October to figure out their next move. Some might transfer to Chicago. Others will look for jobs in the area. The building’s owner, Edison Properties, is already marketing the 194,000 square feet of available space through real estate firm JLL.
City officials say they’re working to attract new tenants, but in a post-pandemic world where office space is harder to lease, it won’t be easy. For the families in Hudson County whose paychecks came from Mars Wrigley, the real work starts now.
Source: Jersey Digs
