Illinois employers give warnings of at least 500 layoffs

Illinois businesses gave notice of impending layoffs in December as the state ended 2015 with fewer jobs than it had at the start of the year.

Hundreds of Illinois workers will soon receive pink slips as businesses across the state close up shop, according to notices filed with the state in December.

Most work in the state’s beleaguered manufacturing sector.

Among the employers closing their doors are Commonground/MGS in Chicago (83 jobs); LB Steel LLC in Harvey, Ill. (224 jobs); Electrolux Small Appliances in Minooka, Ill. (28 jobs); and FreightCar America Inc. in Danville, Ill. (180 jobs).

World Marketing Chicago LLC, AbbVie Inc., and Pure Metal Recycling LLC also plan to close facilities across the state, but did not provide information regarding the number of workers affected.

Crain’s Chicago Business estimates the Pure Metal Recycling closures will result in hundreds of layoffs.

Illinois lost 16,300 jobs in December, leaving the state with fewer jobs at the end of 2015 than it had at the start of the year.

The manufacturing closures included in the December notices should worry Illinoisans. High property taxes, outsized workers’ compensation costs and burdensome red tape are all driving manufacturers to invest elsewhere.

Given that FreightCar America will be shutting down its operations in Illinois, take rail-car manufacturing as an example: An Illinois rail-car manufacturer with 100 rail-car manufacturing employees making $45,000 per year would save $445,500 per year on workers’ compensation costs alone by moving from Illinois to Indiana.

Solutions to Illinois’ employment woes are within reach. But until state lawmakers take meaningful action, expect economic suffering to linger in the Land of Lincoln.