Employers in Washington filed 5 WARN Act notices in January 2008, impacting roughly 309 workers — representing a notable rise over December and down 58% versus January 2007. The average filing covered 62 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 1 | 79 |
The Healthcare sector led the way in workforce reductions with 79 workers across 1 notice.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 3 | 141 |
| Clark | 1 | 89 |
| Spokane | 1 | 79 |
King absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 46% of all affected workers with 141 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 1 | 89 |
| Deer Park | 1 | 79 |
| Bothell | 1 | 71 |
| Kirkland | 1 | 69 |
| Bellevue | 1 | 1 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 2 | 168 |
| Layoff | 3 | 141 |
The high proportion of closures (54% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Washington's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panasonic | Vancouver | 89 | Closure | 2008-01-29 |
| Holy Family Hospital | Deer Park | 79 | Closure | 2008-01-11 |
| Seattle Times - North Creek | Bothell | 71 | Layoff | 2008-01-16 |
| Digio | Kirkland | 69 | Layoff | 2008-01-24 |
| Sun Microsystems Inc | Bellevue | 1 | Layoff | 2008-01-31 |
The single largest action involved Panasonic at its Vancouver facility, reporting 89 affected workers. Holy Family Hospital followed with 79 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The data underscores a mixed picture for Washington's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. 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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