Employers in Pennsylvania recorded 30 WARN Act notices in January 2002, covering approximately 3,765 workers — marking a sharp increase from December and up 22% versus January 2001. The average filing covered 126 workers, with 20 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 1 | 970 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 324 |
| Retail | 4 | 276 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 189 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 153 |
The Utilities sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 970 workers across 1 notice. At the same time, Finance & Insurance reported 324 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Erie | 5 | 1,318 |
| Berks | 3 | 472 |
| Somerset | 3 | 293 |
| Philadelphia | 4 | 288 |
| Lycoming | 1 | 186 |
Erie absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 35% of all affected workers with 1,318 workers across 5 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Erie | 2 | 1,003 |
| Reading | 3 | 352 |
| Philadelphia | 4 | 288 |
| Somerset | 2 | 246 |
| Lake City | 1 | 200 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 20 | 1,925 |
| Layoff | 10 | 1,840 |
The high proportion of closures (51% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Pennsylvania's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE Transportation Systems (General Electric Company) [Erie Plant] | Erie | 970 | Layoff | 2002-01-01 |
| SPX Copes Vulcan | Lake City | 200 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| Hecht's (Berkshire Mall Strawbridge) | Wyomissing | 195 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| Grumman Olson Industries, Inc. (U.S. Postal Service Project) | Montgomery | 186 | Layoff | 2002-01-01 |
| Champion Parts (Beech Creek Facility) | Beech Creek | 181 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| Promistar Bank | Johnstown | 177 | Layoff | 2002-01-01 |
| Bender Shoe Company | Somerset | 150 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| Motion Control Industries, Inc | Ridgway | 149 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| Main Street Bank | Reading | 147 | Layoff | 2002-01-01 |
| Carpenter Technology Corp | Reading | 130 | Layoff | 2002-01-01 |
| BBA Nonwovens | Lewisburg | 127 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| Summit Plaza Giant Eagle | Somerset | 96 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| Gehl Company | Lebanon | 95 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| Acme Markets, Inc. (Store #7718) | Philadelphia | 91 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
| American Color Graphics, Inc | Hanover | 85 | Closure | 2002-01-01 |
Leading the list was GE Transportation Systems (General Electric Company) [Erie Plant] at its Erie facility, reporting 970 affected workers. SPX Copes Vulcan followed with 200 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The filings reflect mounting pressure on the Pennsylvania labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Utilities sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.
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