Illinois Layoffs — May 2021
Employers in Illinois posted 8 WARN Act notices in May 2021, affecting an estimated 971 workers — reflecting a cooling compared to April and down 80% versus May 2020. The average filing covered 121 workers, with 3 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 686 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 148 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 96 |
| Transportation | 1 | 37 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 4 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 686 workers across 4 notices. On a related front, Healthcare reported 148 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| DeKalb | 1 | 262 |
| Cook | 2 | 261 |
| Boone | 1 | 150 |
| Kane | 1 | 148 |
| Will | 2 | 133 |
DeKalb was the epicenter of layoff activity, accounting for 27% of all affected workers with 262 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Sycamore | 1 | 262 |
| Melrose Park | 1 | 257 |
| Belvidere | 1 | 150 |
| Aurora | 1 | 148 |
| Bolingbrook | 2 | 133 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 3 | 390 |
| Layoff | 1 | 150 |
Closures accounted for 40% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adient | Sycamore | 262 | ||
| Navistar | Melrose Park | 257 | Closure | |
| Stellanits DBA Magna Exteriors Belvidere | Belvidere | 150 | Layoff | |
| Sequel Youth & Family Services | Aurora | 148 | ||
| Sony DADC US | Bolingbrook | 96 | Closure | |
| Fns | Bolingbrook | 37 | Closure | |
| Caterpillar | Morton | 17 | ||
| Capgemini | Des Plaines | 4 |
The largest notice was filed by Adient at its Sycamore facility, reporting 262 affected workers. Navistar followed with 257 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.
The trends suggest a easing in workforce disruptions across Illinois, with filings falling below both recent and year-ago levels. The Manufacturing 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.