Isiah Christie 
M&Ms, much like many things, owe their origin to New Jersey. The candy’s roots here trace back to 1940, when they were first produced in Newark by the chocolate manufacturer Mars Wrigley. And after seven years in the Brick City, the company is moving its headquarters to Chicago, following a trend of companies shifting their corporate offices from New Jersey to other states. However, it raises a simple question – why? Continue reading to learn about the M&M Headquarters’ move from Newark.
About the Move
Mars Wrigley, the manufacturer of several common candies including M&Ms, Skittles, Snickers, Twix, and more, has based its headquarters in Newark since 2020. The company originally returned to the city after receiving a 10-year, $31.5 million tax credit package from the state, making its corporate footprint in the Ironside Newark building next to Newark Penn Station.
The company’s move to Newark was considered a massive boost to the city’s economy, providing hundreds of jobs and helping boost the city’s transitional downtown scene. According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) the company filed with the state, 307 employees will be laid off in 2026 as part of the move, adding to a tally of over 10,000 jobs reported lost in New Jersey this year.
The Reasoning
Mars Wrigley has had ties to New Jersey since the 1940’s, but it considers the state’s steep financial pressure a deterrent to business. It is one of many companies that have abandoned New Jersey in favor of lower-cost states in recent years, including Samsung Electronics America, which was based in Englewood Cliffs and recently laid off 739 employees as part of its move.
It was also recently announced that the Anheuser-Busch brewery, known for producing Budweiser, will be leaving Newark after 75 years in the city. This move is considered to be part of a modernization of the brewery’s site, in alignment with Newark’s ongoing changes and the welcoming of new industries. The site is now owned by the Goodman Group, who intend to make it a manufacturing and logistics facility.
Mars Wrigley’s move is not expected to affect the Mars Chocolate factory in Hackettstown, which will continue operations.
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