18 workers at Tootsie Roll factory on Southwest Side test positive for coronavirus

Eighteen employees at a Tootsie Roll manufacturing plant on the Southwest Side have tested positive for COVID-19 since the end of March, the company confirmed Tuesday.

“Those employees and other employees who may have come in contact with them were immediately asked to self-quarantine at home. None of these infected individuals have returned to work yet,” Tootsie Roll said in a statement.

The plant is at 7401 S. Cicero Ave.

“In addition to our already rigorous procedures for sanitizing the facility daily, we are continuing to follow all CDC protocols, including implementing social distancing practices, as well as educating and reminding our employees regularly about good hygiene practices inside and outside the workplace,” the company said.

“The health and safety of our employees is Tootsie Roll’s highest concern.”

Chicago-based Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. and its subsidiaries make and sell confectionery products in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Its main factory is the Cicero Avenue plant. The company employs about 2,000 people.

Tootsie Roll earned $64.8 million on net sales of $523.6 million in 2019.