Employers in Washington logged 7 WARN Act notices in October 2008, involving roughly 1,336 workers — climbing above September and up 499% versus October 2007. The average filing covered 191 workers, with 6 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 1 | 150 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 109 |
The Information & Technology sector dominated layoff filings with 150 workers across 1 notice. Meanwhile, Manufacturing reported 109 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Snohomish | 3 | 801 |
| King | 2 | 264 |
| Pierce | 1 | 162 |
| Stevens | 1 | 109 |
Snohomish bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 60% of all affected workers with 801 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Arlington | 2 | 721 |
| Tacoma | 1 | 162 |
| Bellevue | 1 | 150 |
| Seattle | 1 | 114 |
| Colville | 1 | 109 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 6 | 1,222 |
| Layoff | 1 | 114 |
The high proportion of closures (91% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in Washington's labor market.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meridian Yacht/US Marine | Arlington | 445 | Closure | 2008-10-10 |
| Meridian Yacht/US Marine | Arlington | 276 | Closure | 2008-10-16 |
| Morning Sun | Tacoma | 162 | Closure | 2008-10-23 |
| IntelliTax Software Solutions, Inc | Bellevue | 150 | Closure | 2008-10-27 |
| Solid Ground | Seattle | 114 | Layoff | 2008-10-31 |
| Stimson Lumber | Colville | 109 | Closure | 2008-10-08 |
| Milgard Windows | Marysville | 80 | Closure | 2008-10-14 |
The biggest impact was at Meridian Yacht/US Marine at its Arlington facility, reporting 445 affected workers. Meridian Yacht/US Marine followed with 276 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to mounting pressure on the Washington labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Information & Technology 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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