Employers in Illinois posted 35 WARN Act notices in October 2023, affecting an estimated 25,424 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to September and up 60% versus October 2022. The average filing covered 726 workers, with 7 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 5 | 4,198 |
| Manufacturing | 6 | 2,831 |
| Other | 1 | 243 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 170 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 85 |
The Healthcare sector saw the heaviest impact with 4,198 workers across 5 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 2,831 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cook | 10 | 1,590 |
| Effingham | 4 | 690 |
| Lake | 2 | 144 |
| Vermilion | 2 | 140 |
| Madison | 1 | 100 |
Cook saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 6% of all affected workers with 1,590 workers across 10 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 N. Oak Park Ave | 1 | 2,024 |
| Ave | 1 | 2,023 |
| Drive | 1 | 2,023 |
| 4750 N. Sheridan Road/1015 W. Lawrence Ave | 1 | 2,023 |
| 420 Industrial Ave | 1 | 2,023 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 7 | 1,223 |
| Layoff | 1 | 70 |
Closures accounted for 5% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mars Wrigley | 2019 N. Oak Park Ave | 2,024 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Aspire Bakeries LLC | Ave | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Becton, Dickinson and Company | Drive | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Heartland Alliance Health | 4750 N. Sheridan Road/1015 W. Lawrence Ave | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Quad/Graphics, Marketing LLC | 420 Industrial Ave | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Signature Room | 875 N. Michigan Ave | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Silgan Containers | 324 W. Main Street | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| VRC Engineered Solutions | 3800 Wesley Terrace | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| CVS Health | 2100 E. Lake Cook Road | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Equistar Chemicals, LP | 625 US Hwy 36 | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Heartland Alliance | 208 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 1300 | 2,023 | 2023-10-01 | |
| Quad/Graphics Inc | Effingham | 345 | 2023-10-24 | |
| Monterey Mushrooms | 6 Princeton | 329 | 2023-10-19 | |
| Mars Wrigley | Chicago | 282 | Closure | 2023-10-09 |
| Aspire Bakeries LLC | Northlake | 243 | Closure | 2023-10-27 |
The largest notice was filed by Mars Wrigley at its 2019 N. Oak Park Ave facility, reporting 2,024 affected workers. Aspire Bakeries LLC followed with 2,023 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest 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.
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