Illinois companies announce 650 mass layoffs in November
Employers in the Land of Lincoln announced 650 mass layoffs in November, according to the November edition of the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, report. This report marks the first time since July 2015 that there wasn’t single mass-layoff announcement in the manufacturing sector. The types of jobs lost were spread across...
Employers in the Land of Lincoln announced 650 mass layoffs in November, according to the November edition of the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, report. This report marks the first time since July 2015 that there wasn’t single mass-layoff announcement in the manufacturing sector.
The types of jobs lost were spread across a variety of industries including retail, wholesale, vehicle leasing, warehousing and charter busing. Lake County suffered the heaviest losses with 159 mass layoffs from a single employer: PrimeSource Health Care Systems in Buffalo Grove, which specializes in administrative management and general management consulting services. PrimeSource Health Care Systems was also the largest single employer to announce mass layoffs, the second being Ryder, a vehicle leasing and rental company in Minooka, which handed pink slips to 142 workers.
Megabus also announced 108 layoffs related to the company’s downsizing in Chicago, and Mondelez International, which has drastically decreased its presence in Illinois, announced 18 more layoffs to come at the end of 2016.
The amount of mass layoffs decreased since the last WARN report in October, which saw 812 mass layoffs, over half of which were in the manufacturing sector. November saw the lowest amount of mass layoffs since June, with none in manufacturing.
By law, companies in Illinois must give their workers notice ahead of time before mass layoffs, and the WARN report summarizes these layoffs monthly. Although, not wholly indicative of the condition of the state economy, WARN reports are a litmus test for understanding the scope of mass layoffs on a monthly basis.
While November saw some considerable improvement when compared to the past few months, it would be premature to celebrate. Illinois still faces fundamental, structural problems costing the state jobs. These include the most expensive workers’ compensation system in the Midwest, some of the highest property taxes in the country and more than $140 billion in unpaid bills and pension debt.
The need to implement pro-growth reforms is critical to retaining and attracting jobs. The politicians of the Prairie State should remember this especially now, as budget negotiations continue.