Hundreds of Chicago-area workers are set to be laid off in the coming weeks, according to a new report from the state.
Data from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity showed that as of the end of July, more than 400 layoffs were expected to take place by the end of the year, many in September alone.
The figures were reported under terms of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires companies with more than 75 employees to provide 60 days or more of notice for planned layoffs.
The July report showed a mass layoff for LSC Communications in Bolingbrook scheduled to begin on Sept. 5 and continue through Oct. 13. In total, 180 positions will be lost.
Remaining layoffs were reported for the food service contractor Compass Group, canned fruits and vegetables company TreeHouse Foods, Inc., social and youth services group Community Development Institute Head Start, Ryder Integrated Logistics, Inc., Nordstrom Credit, Inc. and Elkay Plumbing Products Company.
In total, 444 workers are set to be laid off between August 2025 and the end of the year, with some layoffs continuing into April 2026.
A full list of impacted companies covered by the WARN Act can be found on the Illinois WorkNet website.
Here’s what to know about the WARN Act:
What is the WARN Act?
According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, “under state law, employers must notify the state when they plan to lay off workers.”
That law is known as the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, also called the WARN Act. The law was first passed in 1988 in an effort to “provide workers with sufficient time to prepare for the transition between the jobs they currently hold and new jobs.”
It is specifically in place for plant closures or mass layoffs.
It’s important to note, however, there is a difference in the state and federal requirements.
Under Illinois law, the WARN Act applies to employers with 75 or more full-time employees. It requires such employers to give workers 60 days advance notice for a plant closure or mass layoff, which is defined as:
- 25 or more full-time employees are laid off, and they constitute one-third or more of the full-time employees at the site, or
- 250 or more full-time employees are laid off at a single site.
A plant closure is defined as the “closure of a site that employs 50 or more employees.”
“A WARN notice is required when a business with 100 or more full-time workers (not counting workers who have less than six months on the job and workers who work fewer than 20 hours per week) is laying off at least 50 people at a single site of employment, or employs 100 or more workers who work at least a combined 4,000 hours per week, and is a private for-profit business, private non-profit organization, or quasi-public entity separately organized from regular government,” according to Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
