Essendant winds down operations, laying off nearly 1,300 workers across six states

Essendant, the rebranded century-old wholesale office supply firm, is laying off nearly 1,300 employees as it winds down operations and prepares to close. The company issued WARN notices on Aug. 3 for closures across facilities in Illinois (Lincolnshire headquarters and Carol Stream distribution center), Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Sacramento and Los Angeles, totaling 1,278 layoffs, with specific WARN-listed counts of 510 (Lincolnshire) and 134 (Carol Stream). Sources say hundreds of employees were dismissed early on Aug. 27–31, five weeks before the WARN-listed Oct. 3 date, prompting an Illinois Department of Labor investigation into potential WARN Act violations and possible recovery of back pay, benefits, and civil penalties. Essendant cited strategic alternatives and uncertainty over avoiding liquidation; a class-action firm is soliciting former employees who may not have received required notice or severance.

Essendant cut 1,278 jobs in PA.

That is roughly 63.9% of the 2,000 people Essendant employs.

LayoffTalk has tracked 27 layoff events at Essendant since September 2025, including 2,013 jobs documented in official WARN filings, with 14 additional events known from news reporting.