Michigan Layoffs — January 2003

Employers in Michigan filed 18 WARN Act notices in January 2003, impacting roughly 2,702 workers — representing a notable rise over December and up 28% versus January 2002. The average filing covered 150 workers, with 16 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Manufacturing	2	515
Professional Services	1	197

The Manufacturing sector led the way in workforce reductions with 515 workers across 2 notices. In a parallel development, Professional Services reported 197 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

County	Notices	Workers
Wayne	6	1,580
Oakland	2	325
Macomb	3	179
Berrien	2	161
Kent	1	92

Wayne felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 58% of all affected workers with 1,580 workers across 6 notices.

City	Notices	Workers
Detroit	3	880
Dearborn	1	358
Lincoln Park	1	250
Canton Township	1	225
Auburn Hills	1	200

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Closure	16	2,256
Layoff	2	446

The high proportion of closures (83% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Michigan's labor market.

Largest Layoffs

Company	City	Workers	Type	Date
GM Detroit Hamtramack Assembly	Detroit	400	Layoff	2003-01-24
Kmart Corporation #4915	Dearborn	358	Closure	2003-01-16
Kmart Corporation #4994	Detroit	283	Closure	2003-01-16
Kmart Corporation #4949	Lincoln Park	250	Closure	2003-01-16
Kmart Corporation #4990	Canton Township	225	Closure	2003-01-16
Kmart Corporation	Auburn Hills	200	Closure	2003-01-16
Davis Tool & Engineering Company	Detroit	197	Closure	2003-01-13
Kmart Corporation #4192	Southfield	125	Closure	2003-01-16
Menasha Packaging Company, LLC	Coloma	115	Closure	2003-01-03
Liberty Mutual Group	Bingham Farms	115	Closure	2003-01-13
Kmart Corporation #4982	Sterling Heights	100	Closure	2003-01-16
Kmart Corporation #7272	Flat Rock	92	Closure	2003-01-16
Alltel	Grand Rapids	92	Closure	2003-01-31
Dean Specialty Foods Group	Benton Harbor	46	Layoff	2003-01-06
Kmart Corporation #7589	Utica	45	Closure	2003-01-16

The single largest action involved GM Detroit Hamtramack Assembly at its Detroit facility, reporting 400 affected workers. Kmart Corporation #4915 followed with 358 workers.

Trend & Outlook

This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.

The data underscores mounting pressure on the Michigan 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 Michigan. 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 Michigan WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.