North Carolina Layoffs — January 2012
Employers in North Carolina posted 32 WARN Act notices in January 2012, affecting an estimated 1,791 workers. The average filing covered 56 workers, with 30 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 22 | 957 |
| Finance & Insurance | 7 | 717 |
| Retail | 2 | 63 |
| Transportation | 1 | 54 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 957 workers across 22 notices. On a related front, Finance & Insurance reported 717 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Nash | 6 | 724 |
| Rockingham | 1 | 285 |
| Wake | 3 | 220 |
| Mecklenburg | 3 | 208 |
| Catawba | 2 | 75 |
Nash absorbed the greatest share of layoffs, accounting for 40% of all affected workers with 724 workers across 6 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 30 | 1,672 |
| Hickory | 1 | 60 |
| Greensboro | 1 | 59 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 30 | 1,431 |
| Layoff | 2 | 360 |
The high proportion of closures (80% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in North Carolina's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostess Brands | Charlotte | 286 | Closure | |
| KDH Defense Systems | Charlotte | 285 | Layoff | |
| PNC Financial Services Group | Charlotte | 212 | Closure | |
| PNC Financial Services Group | Charlotte | 136 | Closure | |
| PNC Financial Services Group | Charlotte | 107 | Closure | |
| ACS Financial Solutions Group | Charlotte | 96 | Closure | |
| Masonite | Charlotte | 75 | Layoff | |
| PNC Financial Services Group | Charlotte | 60 | Closure | |
| Hickory Business Furniture DBA HBF | Hickory | 60 | Closure | |
| Avery Dennison | Greensboro | 59 | Closure | |
| PNC Financial Services Group | Charlotte | 56 | Closure | |
| JEl-WEN Millwork Distribution Center | Charlotte | 54 | Closure | |
| Sears Holding | Charlotte | 53 | Closure | |
| PNC Financial Services Group | Charlotte | 50 | Closure | |
| Hostess Brands | Charlotte | 37 | Closure |
The largest notice was filed by Hostess Brands at its Charlotte facility, reporting 286 affected workers. KDH Defense Systems followed with 285 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the North Carolina labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by North Carolina. 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 North Carolina WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.