A major library supplier formerly employing 1,500 will cease operations at the end of the year, laying off 318 workers in October at its Momence distribution center.
Illinois companies announced 1,666 mass layoffs during October, with the most at Baker & Taylor library supplier that laid off 318 from its Momence distribution center.
The company once employed 1,500 full- and part-time workers. It will wind down operations by the end of the year after a planned acquisition of the library wholesaler fell through in late September.
Chicago saw 571 layoffs as Virgin Hotels, Acero Charter Schools, Fervalue candy maker and Chartwells, the exclusive caterer for DePaul University, announced cuts.
About 41% of the mass layoffs announced statewide impacted workers in suburban Cook County, with another 13% hitting the collar counties. Kankakee County reported the second-largest share of layoffs at 23%.
The reports show business closures were responsible for most of Illinois’ October layoffs. Business closures were cited for 1,292 of the cuts, with standard layoffs impacting another 252 workers.
The employers did not indicate whether the remaining job cuts were related to business closures or standard layoffs, but the reports show about 92% of these mass layoffs will be permanent.
Illinois employers are mandated to file monthly mass layoff reports under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act if they have 75 or more full-time employees. While the reports serve as a gauge for job trends, they are not a perfect indicator of broader economic health.
Still, Illinois leaders could do a lot to improve the state’s business climate, which has dropped further in standing than any other Midwest state during the past six years. Illinois currently ranks 38th in the nation for tax competitiveness.
Some good places to start would be reducing Illinois’ nation-leading state and local tax burden, beginning with its now No. 1 in the U.S. average property tax rate; lowering its third-highest corporate income taxes; and lowering the state’s 7.85% maximum unemployment insurance tax rate.
