Washington Layoffs — August 2009

Employers in Washington posted 5 WARN Act notices in August 2009, affecting an estimated 585 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to July and down 56% versus August 2008. The average filing covered 117 workers, with 2 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Manufacturing	1	75

The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 75 workers across 1 notice.

Geographic Hotspots

County	Notices	Workers
King	2	184

King felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 31% of all affected workers with 184 workers across 2 notices.

City	Notices	Workers
Puget Sound	1	279
Statewide	2	122
Auburn	1	109
Snoqualmie	1	75

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Layoff	3	401
Closure	2	184

Closures accounted for 31% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

Company	City	Workers	Type	Date
Boeing	Puget Sound	279	Layoff	2009-08-21
Northwest Territorial Mint, LCC	Auburn	109	Closure	2009-08-28
CROSSMARK Home Improvements, LCC	Statewide	77	Layoff	2009-08-31
Philips Electronics	Snoqualmie	75	Closure	2009-08-28
Crossroads Services, Inc	Statewide	45	Layoff	2009-08-14

The largest notice was filed by Boeing at its Puget Sound facility, reporting 279 affected workers. Northwest Territorial Mint, LCC followed with 109 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

The trends suggest a mixed picture for Washington's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Manufacturing 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.