Employers in Washington recorded 8 WARN Act notices in January 2006, covering approximately 713 workers — marking a sharp increase from December and up 36% versus January 2005. The average filing covered 89 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 1 | 98 |
| Information & Technology | 2 | 36 |
The Healthcare sector accounted for the largest share of job cuts with 98 workers across 1 notice. At the same time, Information & Technology reported 36 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Benton | 1 | 275 |
| Clallam | 1 | 98 |
| King | 1 | 90 |
| Pierce | 1 | 86 |
| Cowlitz | 1 | 65 |
Benton absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 39% of all affected workers with 275 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Richland | 1 | 275 |
| Port Angeles | 1 | 98 |
| Federal Way | 1 | 90 |
| Tacoma | 1 | 86 |
| Longview | 1 | 65 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 4 | 397 |
| Closure | 4 | 316 |
Closures accounted for 44% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bechtel National, Inc | Richland | 275 | Layoff | 2006-01-06 |
| Virginia Mason Clinics | Port Angeles | 98 | Closure | 2006-01-23 |
| Unicco | Federal Way | 90 | Closure | 2006-01-16 |
| Schoeller Arca Systems, Inc | Tacoma | 86 | Layoff | 2006-01-03 |
| Sinnett's MarketPlace | Longview | 65 | Closure | 2006-01-25 |
| OfficeMax home Plate | Elma | 63 | Closure | 2006-01-09 |
| Cingular Wireless | Bothell, Redmond | 34 | Layoff | 2006-01-31 |
| Cingular Wireless | Bothell, Redmond | 2 | Layoff | 2006-01-17 |
Leading the list was Bechtel National, Inc at its Richland facility, reporting 275 affected workers. Virginia Mason Clinics followed with 98 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The filings reflect mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Healthcare sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Washington. 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 Washington WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.
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