More than 1,400 jobs in Illinois have been or are expected to be cut over the next few months, according to state records.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity posted its monthly Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) report last week that included filings from 14 companies on pending layoffs.
Those companies, the majority of which are located in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, plan to cut 1,482 workers, with most of the layoffs occurring by the end of the year.
The businesses in Chicago include:
- Pace Industries, Inc., a kitchen and bathroom cabinet manufacturer on the city's West Side, planning to lay off 120 employees and close by November 1.
- PPG Industries, Inc. will close a flat glass manufacturing facility on the city's Southeast Side by October, impacting 55 workers.
- The Sears department store located at 1601 N. Harlem Ave. will be closing its doors by Sept. 30, laying off 116 people.
Companies planning cuts across the suburbs are:
- Pacific Coast Feather Company, a Seattle-based bedding manufacturer, plans to shutter its facility in Des Plaines after being bought out by Hollander Sleep Products in June. The closure will occur by Sept. 14, the company said, and will impact 29 workers.
- Newell Brands, Inc. is closing an office facility in Downers Grove. 134 employees will be laid off between Sept. 30 and June 30, 2018.
- Standard Refrigeration LLC, a manufacturer of power boilers and heat exchangers, plans to cut 102 workers when it closes in Wood Dale by Sept. 30.
- Amcor Rigid Plastics USA, LLC plans to close a plastic bottle manufacturing facility in Batavia, laying off 110 employees by March 2018.
- Grocery chain Ultra Foods is closing its Kankakee store, impacting 92 workers by Sept. 15.
- After losing its contract with Waukegan Community Unit School District 60, food service contractor Aramark laid off 117 workers at once on July 31.
- CORPAK Medsystems, Inc., a surgical and medical instrument manufacturer in Buffalo Grove, is closing by Dec. 15, letting 81 employees go.
- Flood damage is forcing Westmoreland Nursing Center in Lake Forest to close its doors, the company said, laying off 84 people on Aug. 4.
- Kane Warehousing Inc., a general warehousing and storage company in Romeoville, is laying off 178 workers after losing a contract.
- Medtronic, a professional equipment and supplies wholesaler in Joliet, is cutting 185 employees by Dec. 15 as part of a restructuring effort.
In central Illinois, Aclara SGS LLC in Champaign laid off 79 workers on July 28 after losing a contract.
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The DCEO requires companies with at least 75 full-time employees to provide 60 days' notice of plant closures or mass layoffs.
A mass layoff under Illinois law is a loss of employment over 30 days of at least 25 full-time employees if they constitute at least one-third of workers at the site, or 250 employees total.
