M&M's candies and a pack of Wrigley's Doublemint gum in this photo illustration at a convenience store in Medford, Massachusetts April 28, 2008.BRIAN SNYDER/Reuters
WM Wrigley Jr. Co., a unit of Mars Inc., is closing a Toronto chewing gum factory, eliminating 383 jobs, amid a decline in sales.
Wrigley will close the plant in March 2016 and move production to its Gainesville, Ga., facility, Denise Young, a spokeswoman at the Chicago-based company, said in an e-mail Tuesday. The plant was opened in 1962.
"Despite recent improvements in the gum category and increased productivity in our supply chain network, it has not been enough to offset declines in the gum category over recent years," Young said. The closing is part of a supply-chain reorganization, she said.
Mars employs more than 1,200 people in sales, marketing and manufacturing across four business segments in Canada, according to the statement.
"We will continue to operate a Wrigley Canada head office and invest in our Canadian business," Young said.