Employers in Pennsylvania filed 26 WARN Act notices in March 2002, impacting roughly 2,613 workers — representing a notable rise over February and up 47% versus March 2001. The average filing covered 100 workers, with 17 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 11 | 840 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 425 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | 239 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 119 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 89 |
The Retail sector led the way in workforce reductions with 840 workers across 11 notices. In a parallel development, Finance & Insurance reported 425 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Berks | 2 | 457 |
| Union | 2 | 320 |
| Chester | 2 | 256 |
| Philadelphia | 3 | 237 |
| Dauphin | 1 | 200 |
Berks felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 17% of all affected workers with 457 workers across 2 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Wyomissing | 1 | 377 |
| Lewisburg | 2 | 320 |
| Philadelphia | 3 | 237 |
| Harrisburg | 1 | 200 |
| Malvern | 1 | 182 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 17 | 1,261 |
| Layoff | 6 | 851 |
Closures accounted for 48% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wachovia Corporation [First Union National Bank (Spring Ridge site)] | Wyomissing | 377 | Layoff | 2002-03-01 |
| The JPM Company | Lewisburg | 287 | 2002-03-01 | |
| SUPERVALU (Harrisburg Transportation) | Harrisburg | 200 | Layoff | 2002-03-01 |
| Smiths Aerospace - Electronic Systems | Malvern | 182 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| The JPM Company | Beaver Springs | 181 | 2002-03-01 | |
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | Pittsburgh | 136 | Layoff | 2002-03-01 |
| Consolidation Coal Company Dilworth Mine | Rices Landing | 119 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| K-Mart Store #9422 | Wyncote | 110 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| K-Mart Store #9421 | Philadelphia | 100 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| ARAMARK Healthcare Support Services of Pennsylvania Presbyterian Medical Center | Philadelphia | 89 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| K-Mart Store #3564 | Clearfield | 80 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| K-Mart Store #3827 | Reading | 80 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| K-Mart Store #7417 | Cranberry Township | 80 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| K-Mart Store #9158 | Bloomsburg | 80 | Closure | 2002-03-01 |
| Ames Department Stores, Inc. Valley Forge Mall | Phoenixville | 74 | Layoff | 2002-03-01 |
The single largest action involved Wachovia Corporation [First Union National Bank (Spring Ridge site)] at its Wyomissing facility, reporting 377 affected workers. The JPM Company followed with 287 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Pennsylvania labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail 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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