Mass layoffs in Illinois top 1,100, July report shows

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Updated: November 2, 2011 6:45PM

More than 1,100 workers at 10 companies in Illinois will lose their jobs by the end of the year, their employers told the state last month.

A July report, released by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, found the biggest cuts—456—are taking place at Sun-Times Media. The parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times announced last month it will close its printing plant and that the Sun-Times and sister publications will be printed by the Chicago Tribune.

State law requires employers to give workers, their unions and the state advance notice of mass layoffs. A mass layoff is defined as 250 or more full-time employees or 25 or more full-time employees if they make up one-third or more of full-time workers at the site.

In Chicago, employers disclosing job cuts included retailer ShopKo, which plans to cut 113 workers next month, and Schofield Media Group, which began cutting 107 workers in July. Braxton Seafood Grill in Oakbrook said it will cut 82 workers in September.

In other job cutting news, Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said employers announced 66,414 planned job cuts nationally in July, a 16-month high. The number was up 60 percent from June and up 59 percent from July 2010.

Industries that announced the biggest cuts last month were the pharmaceutical industry with 13,493, retail with 11,245, the government with 9,389 and the computer sector, which announced 7,970.

“July marks the third consecutive increase we have seen in monthly job-cut announcements, which certainly seems to provide additional evidence that the recovery has stalled,” John Challenger, chief executive officer of the firm, said in a statement. “What may be the most worrisome about the July surge is that the heaviest layoffs occurred in industries that, until now, have enjoyed relatively low job cut levels, including pharmaceuticals, computer and retail.”

On the positive side, payroll processor ADP said private sector employers added 114,000 jobs last month.