A Galesburg logistics warehouse has given notice that it intends to lay off around 60 employees in June.
United Facilities, a dedicated warehouse of nearly 850,000 square feet located at 1557 S. Henderson St., filed a “WARN Notice” with the state of Illinois stating that 62 workers will be laid off starting on June 16.
The notice was filed with Illinois Work Net site on Monday. The reason given for the job cuts were “Mass layoff.” A “mass layoff” under Illinois WARN is a reduction in force at a single site of employment that is not the result of a “plant closing” and results in employment losses during any 30-day period (or, in some cases, during any 90-day period) of 25 or more full-time employees if they constitute one-third or more of full-time employees at the site, or 250 or more full-time employees.
As of February 28, United Facilities in Galesburg had 86 employees.
Blanche Shoup, director of Western Illinois Works in Galesburg, confirmed her office received the layoff notice but could not yet comment. WGIL has reached out to United Facilities for further comment.
Any company that employs more than 75 people that is going to undertake a mass layoff is required to file a “WARN Notice” with the state of Illinois. The filings need to be made at least 60 days prior to laying off workers. This is required in part to give enough time to workforce agencies to be able to connect with and provide services to workers.
According to its website, United Facilities in Galesburg is a third-party logistics warehouse. It is a food-grade facility with temperature-controlled space.
Word of the plant possibly closing surfaced early this year. On Feb. 28, Peter Hawkins, Director of Operations at the United Facilities corporate headquarters in East Peoria, told WGIL, “The current tenant is leaving — they’re not renewing their contract. So we are actively looking for a new tenant. Maybe not so much in Galesburg, because the tenant has been there for a while, but this is a normal cycle of the warehouse business; it’s something we deal with regularly.
“You advertise the building and try to get some leads. We have a handful already. So then, you just fill it back up.”
While Hawkins said he could not disclose the name of the current tenant, or speak on their behalf, the sign on the Galesburg property and numerous online listings say its a facility that handles products for General Mills.
This story will be updated when further information or company comment becomes available.
