Illinois Layoffs — October 2025
Employers in Illinois recorded 21 WARN Act notices in October 2025, covering approximately 4,123 workers — marking a sharp increase from September and up 123% versus October 2024. The average filing covered 196 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 2,357 |
| Wholesale Trade | 3 | 458 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 391 |
| Accommodation & Food | 2 | 318 |
| Education | 6 | 304 |
| Retail | 4 | 269 |
| Transportation | 1 | 26 |
The Finance & Insurance sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 2,357 workers across 2 notices. At the same time, Wholesale Trade reported 458 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Lake | 2 | 2,357 |
| Cook | 13 | 1,201 |
| DeKalb | 1 | 185 |
| Bureau | 2 | 140 |
| Macoupin | 1 | 134 |
Lake absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 57% of all affected workers with 2,357 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Cook Rd Riverwoods | 2 | 2,357 |
| Chicago | 10 | 1,012 |
| DeKalb | 1 | 185 |
| Melrose Park | 2 | 163 |
| Princeton | 2 | 140 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 407 |
| Layoff | 1 | 180 |
Closures accounted for 10% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One Financial | Lake Cook Rd Riverwoods | 1,748 | ||
| Capital One Financial | Lake Cook Rd Riverwoods | 609 | ||
| Baker & Taylor | Chicago | 318 | ||
| Panduit | DeKalb | 185 | Closure | |
| Virgin Hotels Chicago | Chicago | 180 | Layoff | |
| Acero Charter Schools, Inc. (at five Chicago elementary schools) | Chicago | 152 | Closure | |
| Chartwells at DePaul University | Chicago | 138 | ||
| Georgia-Pacific | Mount Olive | 134 | ||
| Winston Brands | Melrose Park | 90 | ||
| Winston Brands | Melrose Park | 73 | ||
| Fervalue USA | Chicago | 72 | ||
| Ingersoll Rand | Princeton | 70 | Closure | |
| Ingersoll-Rand Industrial U.S | Princeton | 70 | ||
| Transform SR | 59 | |||
| The Fresh Market | Naperville | 47 |
Leading the list was Capital One Financial at its Lake Cook Rd Riverwoods facility, reporting 1,748 affected workers. Capital One Financial followed with 609 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The filings reflect mounting pressure on the Illinois labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Finance & Insurance 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.