Illinois Layoffs — January 2020
Employers in Illinois posted 7 WARN Act notices in January 2020, affecting an estimated 2,576 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December. The average filing covered 368 workers, with 5 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 3 | 1,527 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 861 |
| Retail | 1 | 131 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 57 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,527 workers across 3 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 861 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Winnebago | 1 | 1,374 |
| Coles | 1 | 796 |
| Cook | 2 | 153 |
| Kankakee | 1 | 131 |
| Lake | 2 | 122 |
Winnebago was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 53% of all affected workers with 1,374 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Rockford | 1 | 1,374 |
| North Union St | 1 | 796 |
| Chicago | 5 | 406 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 5 | 2,423 |
| Layoff | 2 | 153 |
The high proportion of closures (94% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Illinois's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle Logistics | Rockford | 1,374 | Closure | |
| LSC Communications US | North Union St | 796 | Closure | |
| Transform KM | Chicago | 131 | Closure | |
| PrimeFlight Aviation Services | Chicago | 102 | Layoff | |
| MGS Mfg. Group | Chicago | 65 | Closure | |
| Brightstar US | Chicago | 57 | Closure | |
| National Express Transit/CDT | Chicago | 51 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Pinnacle Logistics at its Rockford facility, reporting 1,374 affected workers. LSC Communications US followed with 796 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Illinois labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Transportation sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Illinois. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is updated daily by WARN Firehose. View all Illinois WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.