The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers reported 59 WARN Act notices in December 2000, displacing an estimated 7,813 workers — signaling an acceleration from November and up 83% versus December 1999. Filings came from 8 states and territories, with an average of 132 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 30 | 3,535 |
| Kansas | 2 | 900 |
| Florida | 7 | 868 |
| Alabama | 4 | 826 |
| Kentucky | 6 | 514 |
| Oklahoma | 4 | 484 |
| Maryland | 4 | 450 |
| Ohio | 2 | 236 |
Texas led the nation with 3,535 workers affected across 30 notices , followed by Kansas (900 workers) and Florida (868 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 2 | 900 |
| Manufacturing | 4 | 600 |
| Information & Technology | 4 | 509 |
| Other | 4 | 450 |
| Retail | 1 | 106 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 92 |
| Utilities | 1 | 66 |
| Agriculture | 1 | 25 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 22 |
The Healthcare sector topped the list of affected industries with 900 workers across 2 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 600 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 9 | 1,422 |
| Layoff | 6 | 368 |
Closures accounted for 18% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Menninger Clinic | Topeka, Kansas | 900 | |
| Packard-Hughes Interconnect | Robertsdale, Alabama | 475 | Closure |
| Outboard Marine Corporation Chris Craft | Sarasota, Florida | 403 | |
| Symbol Technologies, Inc | Houston, Texas | 258 | |
| M/A/R/C Group | Denton, Texas | 250 | |
| Louisiana- Pacific Corporation | Clayton, Alabama | 225 | Closure |
| Montgomery Ward - San Antonio | San Antonio, Texas | 206 | |
| Montgomery Ward - Corsicana | Corsicana, Texas | 200 | |
| Montgomery Ward - El Paso2 | El Paso, Texas | 197 | |
| York International | Elyria, Ohio | 175 |
The most significant filing came from The Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, reporting 900 affected workers. Packard-Hughes Interconnect followed with 475 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Healthcare sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in December 2000. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is sourced from official state filings and updated daily by WARN Firehose. Download the full dataset or explore state-by-state data.
Get weekly layoff reports in your inbox
Free weekly digest of WARN Act filings and analysis.
