Illinois Layoffs — October 2023
Employers in Illinois logged 14 WARN Act notices in October 2023, involving roughly 1,965 workers — climbing above September and up 44% versus October 2022. The average filing covered 140 workers, with 6 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 9 | 1,676 |
| Healthcare | 2 | 112 |
| Retail | 2 | 92 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 85 |
The Manufacturing sector dominated layoff filings with 1,676 workers across 9 notices. Meanwhile, Healthcare reported 112 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cook | 5 | 856 |
| Effingham | 3 | 690 |
| Madison | 1 | 100 |
| Tazewell | 1 | 85 |
| Lake | 1 | 72 |
Cook bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 44% of all affected workers with 856 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Effingham | 3 | 690 |
| Chicago | 2 | 322 |
| Northlake | 1 | 243 |
| Elmwood Park | 1 | 180 |
| Schiller Park | 1 | 111 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 6 | 1,053 |
| Layoff | 1 | 70 |
The high proportion of closures (54% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Illinois's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quad/Graphics | Effingham | 345 | ||
| Mars Wrigley | Chicago | 282 | Closure | |
| Aspire Bakeries | Northlake | 243 | Closure | |
| Quad/Graphics, Marketing | Effingham | 200 | Closure | |
| Mars Wrigley Confectionery US | Elmwood Park | 180 | ||
| Quad/Graphics, Marketing | Effingham | 145 | Closure | |
| VRC Engineered Solutions | Schiller Park | 111 | Closure | |
| Wieland Rolled Products North America | East Alton | 100 | ||
| Pekin Insurance | Pekin | 85 | ||
| Becton, Dickinson and | Vernon Hills | 72 | Closure | |
| Silgan Containers | Hoopeston | 70 | Layoff | |
| Party City | Naperville | 67 | ||
| Heartland Alliance Health | Chicago | 40 | ||
| Camping World | Marion | 25 |
The biggest impact was at Quad/Graphics at its Effingham facility, reporting 345 affected workers. Mars Wrigley followed with 282 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to mounting pressure on the Illinois labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing 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.