Employers in Illinois submitted 42 WARN Act notices in October 2025, putting at risk an estimated 4,244 workers — up substantially from September and up 33% versus October 2024. The average filing covered 101 workers, with 11 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4 | 709 |
| Accommodation & Food | 4 | 678 |
| Education | 12 | 594 |
| Retail | 4 | 269 |
| Construction | 1 | 178 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1 | 70 |
| Transportation | 2 | 52 |
The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 709 workers across 4 notices. Separately, Accommodation & Food reported 678 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Cook | 22 | 1,594 |
| Kankakee | 4 | 754 |
| Macoupin | 2 | 268 |
| DuPage | 4 | 240 |
| Bureau | 3 | 210 |
Cook saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 38% of all affected workers with 1,594 workers across 22 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 17 | 1,236 |
| Momence | 2 | 636 |
| Gladiolus St Momence | 1 | 318 |
| Mount Olive | 2 | 268 |
| Princeton | 3 | 210 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 11 | 1,292 |
| Layoff | 2 | 252 |
Closures accounted for 30% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker & Taylor, LLC | Gladiolus St Momence | 318 | 2025-10-06 | |
| Baker & Taylor, LLC | Momence | 318 | Closure | 2025-10-06 |
| Baker & Taylor, LLC | Momence | 318 | 2025-10-06 | |
| Panduit Corp | DeKalb | 185 | Closure | 2025-10-13 |
| Virgin Hotels Chicago, LLC | N Wabash Ave Chicago | 180 | 2025-10-03 | |
| Virgin Hotels Chicago | Chicago | 180 | Layoff | 2025-10-03 |
| Virgin Hotels Chicago, LLC | Chicago | 180 | 2025-10-03 | |
| Elkay Plumbing Products Company | 178 | 2025-10-10 | ||
| Acero Charter Schools, Inc. (at five Chicago elementary schools) | Chicago | 152 | Closure | 2025-10-01 |
| INEOS Joliet, LLC | Amoco Road Channahon | 142 | 2025-10-31 | |
| Chartwells at DePaul University | Chicago | 138 | Closure | 2025-10-01 |
| Chartwells at DePaul University | Chicago | 138 | 2025-10-01 | |
| Georgia-Pacific LLC | Mount Olive | 134 | Closure | 2025-10-30 |
| Georgia-Pacific LLC | Mount Olive | 134 | 2025-10-30 | |
| Compass Group | Evanston | 126 | 2025-10-15 |
Topping the list was Baker & Taylor, LLC at its Gladiolus St Momence facility, reporting 318 affected workers. Baker & Taylor, LLC followed with 318 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the Illinois labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. 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.
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