Illinois Layoffs — January 2025
Employers in Illinois submitted 19 WARN Act notices in January 2025, putting at risk an estimated 2,340 workers — up substantially from December and up 47% versus January 2024. The average filing covered 123 workers, with 9 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 3 | 660 |
| Retail | 3 | 513 |
| Transportation | 3 | 358 |
| Information & Technology | 6 | 340 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 229 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 105 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 88 |
| Education | 1 | 47 |
The Accommodation & Food sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 660 workers across 3 notices. Separately, Retail reported 513 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cook | 8 | 810 |
| Kankakee-28 | 1 | 451 |
| Lake-16 | 1 | 306 |
| DuPage-214 Cook-15 | 1 | 229 |
| DuPage | 3 | 190 |
Cook was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 35% of all affected workers with 810 workers across 8 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 5 | 767 |
| Joliet | 1 | 451 |
| Lemont | 1 | 229 |
| Aurora | 2 | 148 |
| Forest Park | 1 | 107 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 9 | 1,539 |
| Layoff | 10 | 801 |
The high proportion of closures (66% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Illinois's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compass Group DBA TouchPoint Support Services at Ascension Saint Joseph | Joliet | 451 | Closure | |
| Sandra Holdings | Chicago | 306 | Closure | |
| Timberline Knolls, TK Behavioral | Lemont | 229 | Closure | |
| Air Wisconsin | Chicago | 225 | Layoff | |
| Cherry Circle Room and Game Room | Chicago | 154 | Closure | |
| Barnes & Noble | Forest Park | 107 | Closure | |
| Innovation Group North America | Schaumburg | 105 | Layoff | |
| Grunt Style | Carol Stream | 100 | Closure | |
| Kane County Personnel, Inc. DBA Manpower | Aurora | 99 | Layoff | |
| Smurfit Westrock | Bridgeview | 88 | Closure | |
| 10 Roads Express | Homewood | 84 | Layoff | |
| MacLellan Integrated Services (at Rivian Automotive) | Normal | 76 | Layoff | |
| Hard Rock International STP DBA Hard Rock Café Chicago | Chicago | 55 | Closure | |
| Manpower Group US | Aurora | 49 | Layoff | |
| Parsec | Franklin Park | 49 | Closure |
Topping the list was Compass Group DBA TouchPoint Support Services at Ascension Saint Joseph at its Joliet facility, reporting 451 affected workers. Sandra Holdings followed with 306 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the Illinois labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Accommodation & Food 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.