Employers in Alabama submitted 7 WARN Act notices in May 2003, putting at risk an estimated 868 workers — up substantially from April and up 27% versus May 2002. The average filing covered 124 workers, with 6 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2 | 346 |
The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 346 workers across 2 notices.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Tallapoosa | 1 | 174 |
| Hale | 1 | 172 |
| Geneva | 1 | 159 |
| Lee | 2 | 152 |
| Jefferson | 1 | 54 |
Tallapoosa felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 20% of all affected workers with 174 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander City | 1 | 174 |
| Moundville | 1 | 172 |
| Geneva | 1 | 159 |
| Marshall Center | 1 | 157 |
| Opelika | 2 | 152 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 6 | 694 |
| Layoff | 1 | 174 |
The high proportion of closures (80% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Alabama's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avondale Mills, Inc.., Beville Plant | Alexander City | 174 | Layoff | 2003-05-22 |
| International Paper | Moundville | 172 | Closure | 2003-05-20 |
| Fleming Companies, Inc | Geneva | 159 | Closure | 2003-05-27 |
| Cortez, Inc | Marshall Center | 157 | Closure | 2003-05-12 |
| Fiskars’ Home Leisure (American Designer Pottery) | Opelika | 76 | Closure | 2003-05-21 |
| Fiskars' Home Leisure (American Designer Pottery) | Opelika | 76 | Closure | 2003-05-21 |
| Copperweld (Aka Ltv Copperweld) | Birmingham | 54 | Closure | 2003-05-12 |
Topping the list was Avondale Mills, Inc.., Beville Plant at its Alexander City facility, reporting 174 affected workers. International Paper followed with 172 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight 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.
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