Illinois Layoffs — January 2021
Employers in Illinois filed 8 WARN Act notices in January 2021, impacting roughly 1,083 workers — representing a pullback from December and down 58% versus January 2020. The average filing covered 135 workers, with 0 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 5 | 665 |
| Retail | 1 | 276 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 83 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 59 |
The Transportation sector led the way in workforce reductions with 665 workers across 5 notices. In a parallel development, Retail reported 276 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cook | 2 | 319 |
| Lake | 2 | 302 |
| Will | 1 | 227 |
| La Salle | 2 | 166 |
| Grundy | 1 | 69 |
Cook was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 29% of all affected workers with 319 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 1 | 276 |
| Vernon Hills | 1 | 243 |
| Joliet | 1 | 227 |
| Streator | 2 | 166 |
| Minooka | 1 | 69 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 8 | 1,083 |
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macy's Retail Holdings, Inc. Macy’s Watertower Place | Chicago | 276 | Layoff | |
| ThredUp | Vernon Hills | 243 | Layoff | |
| XPO Logistics Supply Chain | Joliet | 227 | Layoff | |
| The Results Companies LLC ResultsCX | Streator | 83 | Layoff | |
| Illinois Central School Bus | Streator | 83 | Layoff | |
| Neovia Logistics Services | Minooka | 69 | Layoff | |
| Assa Abloy Group LifeSafety Power | Libertyville | 59 | Layoff | |
| M. Block & Sons | Tinley Park | 43 | Layoff |
The single largest action involved Macy's Retail Holdings, Inc. Macy’s Watertower Place at its Chicago facility, reporting 276 affected workers. ThredUp followed with 243 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.
The data underscores a easing in workforce disruptions across Illinois, with filings falling below both recent and year-ago levels. The Transportation 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.