Illinois Layoffs — March 2024
Employers in Illinois filed 14 WARN Act notices in March 2024, impacting roughly 1,639 workers — representing a notable rise over February and up 479% versus March 2023. The average filing covered 117 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 6 | 830 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 328 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 257 |
| Professional Services | 2 | 112 |
| Government | 1 | 83 |
| Transportation | 1 | 29 |
The Information & Technology sector led the way in workforce reductions with 830 workers across 6 notices. In a parallel development, Finance & Insurance reported 328 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Will | 3 | 466 |
| Lake | 2 | 366 |
| Cook | 3 | 329 |
| Kane | 1 | 177 |
| DuPage | 2 | 155 |
Will felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 28% of all affected workers with 466 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Romeoville | 2 | 405 |
| Chicago | 2 | 287 |
| Lake Cook Rd Riverwoods | 1 | 283 |
| Geneva | 1 | 177 |
| Itasca | 1 | 89 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 8 | 901 |
| Closure | 4 | 410 |
Closures accounted for 25% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Staffing at Hearthside Food Solutions | Romeoville | 376 | Layoff | |
| Discover Financial Services | Lake Cook Rd Riverwoods | 283 | ||
| Blommer Chocolate | Chicago | 226 | Closure | |
| Elite Staffing at Hearthside Food Solutions | Geneva | 177 | Layoff | |
| Elite Staffing at Hearthside Food Solutions | Itasca | 89 | Layoff | |
| Schuler Scholar Program | Lincolnshire | 83 | Closure | |
| KIRA Training Services | Rock Island | 70 | Closure | |
| Elite Staffing at Hearthside Food Solutions | Carol Stream | 66 | Layoff | |
| 7 C's Maintenance (at Trump Tower Chicago) | Chicago | 61 | Layoff | |
| Elite Staffing at Hearthside Food Solutions | Bolingbrook | 61 | Layoff | |
| Block | 45 | |||
| Pinnacle Advertising and Marketing Group | Schaumburg | 42 | Layoff | |
| Louisiana-Pacific | Granite City | 31 | Closure | |
| Ryder Integrated Logistics | Romeoville | 29 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved Elite Staffing at Hearthside Food Solutions at its Romeoville facility, reporting 376 affected workers. Discover Financial Services followed with 283 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Illinois labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Information & Technology 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.