Illinois Layoffs — January 2026
Employers in Illinois posted 15 WARN Act notices in January 2026, affecting an estimated 1,827 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December and down 22% versus January 2025. The average filing covered 122 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 9 | 1,353 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 253 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 109 |
| Transportation | 2 | 64 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 48 |
The Retail sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,353 workers across 9 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 253 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cook | 9 | 1,353 |
| Madison | 1 | 253 |
| DuPage | 1 | 109 |
| Will | 2 | 64 |
Cook was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 74% of all affected workers with 1,353 workers across 9 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Schaumburg | 9 | 1,390 |
| Cut St Alton | 1 | 253 |
| Maywood | 1 | 72 |
| Romeoville | 1 | 32 |
| West Normantown Rd Romeoville | 1 | 32 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 104 |
Closures accounted for 6% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alton Steel | Cut St Alton | 253 | ||
| Amazonfresh | Schaumburg | 220 | ||
| Amazonfresh | Schaumburg | 179 | ||
| Amazonfresh | Schaumburg | 173 | ||
| Amazonfresh | Schaumburg | 170 | ||
| Amazonfresh | Schaumburg | 155 | ||
| Amazonfresh | Schaumburg | 134 | ||
| Amazonfresh | Schaumburg | 132 | ||
| Amazonfresh | Schaumburg | 118 | ||
| T-Mobile USA | Schaumburg | 109 | ||
| Kroger Delivery | Maywood | 72 | Closure | |
| Founders Insurance | 43 | |||
| GXO Logistics Supply Chain | Romeoville | 32 | Closure | |
| GXO Logistics Supply Chain | West Normantown Rd Romeoville | 32 | ||
| Sumitomo Mitsui Banking | 5 |
The largest notice was filed by Alton Steel at its Cut St Alton facility, reporting 253 affected workers. Amazonfresh followed with 220 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest a mixed picture for Illinois's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Retail 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.