Illinois Layoffs — July 2020
Employers in Illinois filed 48 WARN Act notices in July 2020, impacting roughly 12,096 workers — representing a notable rise over June. The average filing covered 252 workers, with 9 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 12 | 8,719 |
| Accommodation & Food | 22 | 1,589 |
| Construction | 1 | 390 |
| Manufacturing | 4 | 361 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 311 |
| Government | 1 | 305 |
| Professional Services | 2 | 149 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 103 |
The Transportation sector led the way in workforce reductions with 8,719 workers across 12 notices. In a parallel development, Accommodation & Food reported 1,589 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cook | 44 | 11,504 |
| Livingston | 1 | 390 |
| Winnebago | 1 | 107 |
| Crawford | 1 | 60 |
| DuPage | 1 | 35 |
Cook was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 95% of all affected workers with 11,504 workers across 44 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 37 | 10,914 |
| Dwight | 1 | 390 |
| Evanston | 1 | 249 |
| Wheeling | 1 | 142 |
| Rockford | 1 | 107 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 33 | 6,092 |
| Closure | 9 | 1,023 |
Closures accounted for 8% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | Chicago | 4,275 | ||
| American Airlines | Chicago | 1,767 | Layoff | |
| ExpressJet Airlines | Chicago | 653 | Layoff | |
| GoJet Airlines | Chicago | 549 | Layoff | |
| LSC Communications US | Dwight | 390 | Closure | |
| Air Wisconsin Airlines | Chicago | 332 | Layoff | |
| United Airlines | Chicago | 327 | ||
| United Airlines | Chicago | 313 | ||
| US Citizenship & Immigration Services | Chicago | 305 | Layoff | |
| Spirit Airlines | Chicago | 257 | Layoff | |
| American Queen Steamboat Company DBA American Queen and American Empress vessels | Chicago | 250 | Layoff | |
| Compass Group USA, Inc. (Evanston and Chicago Northwestern campuses) | Evanston | 249 | Layoff | |
| Airport Management Services and Hudson Group | Chicago | 246 | Layoff | |
| Radisson Chicago MP Management LLC DBA Radisson Blu Aqua Chicago | Chicago | 143 | Layoff | |
| Creation Technologies Illinois | Wheeling | 142 | Closure |
The single largest action involved United Airlines at its Chicago facility, reporting 4,275 affected workers. American Airlines followed with 1,767 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores 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.