Illinoisans face 1,026 job cuts in June, with 27% at John Deere
Illinoisans faced 1,026 mass layoffs in June 2024, with manufacturing and transportation sectors hit hardest. John Deere in East Moline accounted for about 1-in-4 of the layoffs announced statewide.
Illinois companies announced 1,026 mass layoffs in June 2024, with stalwart state employers such as Jelly Belly and John Deere shedding 345 jobs.
The largest share of Illinois’ June job losses – 279 of the 1,026 layoffs – were to hit East Moline after job cuts were announced at John Deere’s largest combine factory, according to Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification reports.
East Moline accounted for about 1-in-4 mass layoffs announced in June. Carol Stream followed with the second most layoffs after the school and employee transportation company, First Student, announced 130 job cuts.
Major firms such as ShipBob Inc. and WestRock Co. reduced their presence in Chicago. Most of the companies did not provide a specific reason for the layoffs. Those that did mainly cited lost contracts and relocation as driving their staff cuts.
Illinois employers are mandated to file monthly mass layoff reports under the WARN Act. While the reports serve as a gauge for job trends, they are not a perfect indicator of broader economic health.
The nature of these layoffs varied, with business closures accounting for 711 of the job cuts.
Breaking down the layoffs by region, Northern Illinois, excluding Cook County and its collar counties, bore the brunt with 357 layoffs. The collar counties reported 342 job cuts.
Suburban Cook County also felt the impact, with 300 workers laid off. Chicago announced the fewest with 27 job cuts.
Business rankings found Illinois has become a more hostile operating environment for business while most of its neighboring states have improved or stayed the same.
Illinois ranked 37th in the nation for business tax climate, down eight spots from 2018 ranks, according to the Tax Foundation’s 2024 State Business Tax Climate report.
Reducing layoffs in the future starts with state lawmakers adopting policies that make Illinois more attractive to businesses and workers today.
Some good places to begin would be lowering Illinois’ No. 2 in the nation average property tax rate, lowering the nation’s second-highest corporate income taxes and the 8.65% maximum unemployment insurance tax rate.