Alabama Layoffs — May 2001
Employers in Alabama posted 8 WARN Act notices in May 2001, affecting an estimated 966 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to April and up 23% versus May 2000. The average filing covered 121 workers, with 6 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2 | 213 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 213 workers across 2 notices.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | 2 | 637 |
| Franklin | 1 | 76 |
| Cullman | 1 | 67 |
| Jefferson | 1 | 46 |
| Madison | 1 | 38 |
Mobile felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 66% of all affected workers with 637 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | 2 | 637 |
| Russellville | 1 | 76 |
| Cullman | 1 | 67 |
| Birmingham | 1 | 46 |
| Huntsville | 1 | 38 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 6 | 791 |
| Layoff | 2 | 175 |
The high proportion of closures (82% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Alabama's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sappi | Mobile | 500 | Closure | |
| International Paper-Mobile Packaging Facility | Mobile | 137 | Layoff | |
| Heilig-Meyers Furniture | Russellville | 76 | Closure | |
| Greif Brothers | Cullman | 67 | Closure | |
| Louisiana Pacific | 67 | Closure | ||
| Sirco Systems | Birmingham | 46 | Closure | |
| Silicon Graphics, Inc.. (Sgi) | Huntsville | 38 | Layoff | |
| M. Fine & Son | Killen | 35 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Sappi at its Mobile facility, reporting 500 affected workers. International Paper-Mobile Packaging Facility followed with 137 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the Alabama labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Alabama. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is updated daily by WARN Firehose. View all Alabama WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.