Employers in Washington submitted 8 WARN Act notices in April 2009, putting at risk an estimated 752 workers — down from March and up 325% versus April 2008. The average filing covered 94 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 1 | 100 |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 74 |
The Finance & Insurance sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 100 workers across 1 notice. Separately, Manufacturing reported 74 workers.
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| King | 3 | 272 |
| Lewis | 1 | 124 |
| Snohomish | 1 | 118 |
| Asotin | 1 | 74 |
King saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 36% of all affected workers with 272 workers across 3 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 2 | 172 |
| Morton | 1 | 124 |
| Puget Sound | 1 | 119 |
| Darrington | 1 | 118 |
| Bothell | 1 | 100 |
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 6 | 633 |
| Closure | 2 | 119 |
Closures accounted for 16% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZymoGenetics | Seattle | 170 | Layoff | 2009-04-30 |
| Hampton Affiliates | Morton | 124 | Layoff | 2009-04-08 |
| Boeing | Puget Sound | 119 | Layoff | 2009-04-21 |
| Hampton Affiliates | Darrington | 118 | Layoff | 2009-04-08 |
| Liberty Mutual Insurance | Bothell | 100 | Layoff | 2009-04-17 |
| Guy Bennett Lumber | Clarkston | 74 | Closure | 2009-04-03 |
| JP Morgan Chase | Tukwila | 45 | Closure | 2009-04-07 |
| Microsoft | Seattle | 2 | Layoff | 2009-04-01 |
Topping the list was ZymoGenetics at its Seattle facility, reporting 170 affected workers. Hampton Affiliates followed with 124 workers.
This is the third consecutive month of declining layoff activity.
These figures highlight a mixed picture for Washington's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Finance & Insurance 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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