Amazon Fresh cuts 1,545 Illinois jobs in January

Amazon laid off 1,545 Illinois employees. That was most of 2,000 total layoffs across the state in January.

Illinois started 2026 with over 2,000 mass layoffs in January, driven by Amazon closing over a dozen Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores across Illinois.

The firm laid off 1,545 employees in January.

Iron and steel manufacturing accounted for 253 layoffs. Wireless Carrier T-Mobile also announced 109 layoffs in Schaumburg.

These numbers come from the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires employers to notify the state about major layoffs. While the reports don’t capture every detail about Illinois’ job market, they offer a useful look at recent trends affecting workers in large companies.

January layoffs were concentrated in Chicago’s suburbs, in Cook, DuPage and Will counties.

Breaking down January’s big layoffs, it wasn’t just a wave of pink slips, most of these were outright closings, accounting for 1,902 job losses. Only 152 layoffs were not part of a full closure.

The bigger picture comes with a warning: Illinois’ business climate is seen as less friendly than it used to be. The state dropped to 38th in a nationwide business tax climate ranking.

Illinois needs comprehensive reforms to improve its economic situation and reduce future layoffs, including ending excessive occupational licensing, expanding school choice, reducing the nation’s No. 1 property tax rate, lowering its third-highest corporate income taxes, and investing more in apprenticeship programs to help keep companies and jobs in Illinois.