Illinois Layoffs — February 2026
Employers in Illinois reported 16 WARN Act notices in February 2026, displacing an estimated 4,409 workers — signaling an acceleration from January and up 97% versus February 2025. The average filing covered 276 workers, with 0 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 3 | 1,930 |
| Manufacturing | 4 | 1,485 |
| Retail | 3 | 649 |
| Government | 3 | 140 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 119 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 86 |
The Healthcare sector topped the list of affected industries with 1,930 workers across 3 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 1,485 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cook | 9 | 2,390 |
| DuPage | 3 | 1,110 |
| Mchenry | 2 | 778 |
Cook was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 54% of all affected workers with 2,390 workers across 9 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Olympia Fields | 2 | 1,601 |
| McHenry | 2 | 778 |
| West Chicago | 1 | 642 |
| Chicago | 5 | 426 |
| Deerfield | 1 | 416 |
Layoff Type Analysis
Layoff type classification was not available for filings in Illinois this month.
Largest Layoffs
The most significant filing came from Franciscan Health Olympia Fields at its Olympia Fields facility, reporting 1,535 affected workers. First Brands Group (Champion Laboratories, Inc.-multiple sites) followed with 642 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the Illinois labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Healthcare 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.